My Way Back
by heratulipsia
Summary: About a week after season 3's ending, Logan is in the hospital after a run in with the Sorokins. Veroinca vows to use her time in D.C. to dig up any info to help her, and her Dad and Logan, take them down. How will things go when she returns to Neptune?
1. Save You

LoVe has to be one of my favorite TV couples. I am so sad- as I'm sure everyone in the VM community is- that the show ended! I know I am in need of some serious closure, so this is my attempt to get some.

This is a one shot that will probably turn into a small(??) multi-chapter story. There are just too many un-resolved things from the end of the show in my opinion, and there are lots of different scenes running through my head I think need to play out. I'm trying to make it so all the random thoughts cohesively fit into a single story, but it's difficult, and I welcome any concrit and ideas!

This first chapter is almost kinda a song-fic.... or a song chapter. And I am usually not a song-fic fan, but I was listening to Save You by Kelly Clarkson and I couldn't get this image out of my head, and I decided it made a perfect prologue to what could be a season 4! Logan is in a hospital room hurt/broken/beaten by Goyra and his father's "people,", and Veronica is there thinking about everything- how she wishes things would be ok, and how she's gonna make them ok. The song fits them perfectly….. Seriously. Listen to it.....

Oh, and btw, i don't own any of these characters. They belong to Rob Thomas. I just borrow and play with them.

That sounded kinda dirty.... :)

* * *

Save you.

_I Wish I Could Save You__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__I'm Not Going Nowhere__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__It's Gonna Be Alright__  
_  
Veronica sat in the chair next to the bed, head in her hands.

A ruptured spleen, three broken ribs, numerous bruises on the body and the face, including one hell of a black eye that was swollen shut....The boy lying in the hospital bed had yet to wake up. _Yes, boy_, Veronica thought. Even at 20, and through the black and blue covering his face, Logan Echolls still retained his boyish good looks. _Hell, he'll probably still look 20 when he's 50._

The doctor and nurses had assured her he'd wake up, that his body was just compensating for the shock of all his injuries. It was a _good _thing he was still sleeping, they said, because he'd be in a hell of a lot of pain if he were awake.

Logan _hated_ hospitals. She knew that. All of his "injuries" from growing up, and he would wind up here with his mother. It would be, "Oh, he fell down the stairs," or had "scraped his back up on the cement, wrestling a little to hard with the boys, ".... Ya sure. The 35 year old boy with an anger problem and too many Italian leather belts.

_I Can Tell I Can Tell__  
__How much You hate This__  
_  
Veronica hated seeing him in here. Seeing what they did to him made her stomach heave. _Goyra_. She knew it was him. Or rather, not _him_, but someone either he or dear ole daddy had hired to do their dirty work. Goyra didn't seem the type to actually carry out anything on his own. Logan was lucky they didn't kill him, and just left him in the parking lot beat to hell. Was it just a warning?

_Deep Down __Inside__  
__You __Know It's Killing Me__  
_  
She was going to make this right, of course. That's what Veronica Mars did. She got even. She would _not_ just let them get away with this. Who cares if they were tied to the Russian mob? She'd taken on the like before, and for him she'd do it again. If she didn't hear the constant beeping of the heart monitor, Veronica would've believed he was dead.

Rage bubbled up in side her. _Oh she would make them pay!_

Would that be enough, though? Would catching the bad guy right the wrongs done to him? By Goyra _and_ by her?

His arm twitched slightly on the bed.

_I Can Call, __Wish You Well__  
__And Try To Change This__  
__But Nothing I Can Say__  
__Would Change Anything__  
_  
When her dad had told her that Logan had been taken to the hospital, Veronica had dropped everything. Now, she silently hoped he'd wait until she was gone to wake up. She didn't quite know how to face him, or what to say to him. He'd tried to help her, defend her, and gotten himself messed up in her crazy, dangerous life again. How do you apologize for something like that? _Sorry you got your face bashed in cause I'm such a nosy snoop and can't let things lie...? _Somehow that made her stomach turn again. Of course she didn't ask Logan to hit Goyra in the cafeteria— in fact she had warned him not to— but when had he ever listened to her about things like this? He threw himself in front of danger just as much as she did, and damn the consequences. She had learned that the first summer they were together.

_Where Were My Senses__  
__I Left Them All Behind__  
__Why Did I Turn Away__  
_  
How different would their relationship be if she had stayed with him after the whole Felix ordeal? If she hadn't jumped to conclusions about Lily? Had helped him and supported him, and had let him help her, instead of leaving him to his inevitable downward spiral? Would they have had the same problems? Maybe she could have gotten over some of her trust issues. Madison wouldn't have happened. Parker wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't have stomped all over Piz's heart and used him to try and forget. Because if she was being honest with herself, that's exactly what she did. Wallace had been right. Piz may been the "breaker-upper," but he was still the one more hurt by the end of their relationship. How many people were hurt because of them? Because of her?

_Was that really only a few days ago? _Sitting in this room, staring at Logan's battered body now unmoving on the bed, Veronica felt extremely disconnected from it all.

_I Wish I Could Save You__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__I'm Not Going Nowhere__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__It's Gonna Be Alright__  
_  
But here they were. She couldn't change the past. Veronica knew that. But she _could_ make damn sure that Goyra and his family didn't hurt anyone she loved again, or anyone else for that matter. This time she was going to face the truth, embrace the fact that she had this pesky little problem of fighting crime and solving murders. So what was going to be different this time? Well, this time she wasn't going to do it on her own. She knew she wasn't unbreakable—and neither was Logan, obviously— and that this case might be a little too much for her to handle on her own. That she could admit.

_I Didn't Mean Didn't Mean__  
__To Leave You Stranded__  
__Went Away Cause I__  
__Didn't Want To Face The Truth_

But she was going to work for the FBI for the summer. Her flight left in two days. And there was no way in hell the FBI didn't have information on the Sorokin family and their many indiscretions. No way. They had to be tracking them. As soon as she got to D.C. and determined who she could trust, Veronica was going to make them listen to her. If the tape of Goyra's confession was anything to go by, the family was involved in a lot of shady, dangerous, illegal activities, so she was banking on the name Sorokin alone to be enough to have her taken seriously. This was, of course, the only reason she was leaving Neptune. If she didn't have the burning need in her gut to hurt whoever did this, there was no way anyone could tear her away from this hospital.

When she came back in August, she would bring in her father AND Logan. She wasn't going to try to protect them and keep them in the dark. That was the sure-fire way to get her and them in trouble. She learned that the hard way. Of course Veronica knew her dad (and Logan) wouldn't like her putting herself in so much danger, but seriously... He knew her enough by now to know she wouldn't let this go. _Couldn't_ let this go. It was _Logan_. Even though she knew her father wasn't exactly over the moon about him and their past relationship, he knew how she felt about him. How much he was a part of her life. Truth be told Veronica was tired of all the pointed looks her dad would throw at her whenever his name was mentioned.

Logan probably didn't know how she felt either.

_But whose fault is that, Veronica?_

She sighed, running her hands through her hair.

She would fix that when she got back too.

_Reaching Out __Reach For Me__  
__Empty Handed__  
__You Don't Know if I Care__  
__You're Trying To Find The Proof__  
_  
Logan had put so much on the line in their relationship, and if she was being honest, she had kept him at arms length. Him almost dying because of her was what it took to get her to be honest with herself? _Come on, Veronica, how pathetic is that?__  
_  
_There Were Times I'd Wonder__  
__Could I Have Eased Your Pain__  
__Why Did I Turn Away__  
_  
She had made so many mistakes. Veronica knew of course that he was far from innocent in the disasters that had befallen their relationship, but somehow, with him lying in a hospital bed in front of her, injured head to toe, it made it kind of hard to place all the blame at his feet.

_We Can Pretend Nothings Changed__  
__Pretend It's All The Same__  
__And There Will Be No Pain Tonight... __  
__It's Gonna Be Alright__  
_  
When she got back, she would make things right. They could take it slow. Go easy. If they just jumped back together, picked up where they left off..... No. That couldn't happen. Veronica knew that would be unbelievably dangerous and destructive, and who knew what other casualties they'd leave in their wake this time.

This time, something had to change.

Of course, this was all based on the fact that he would even want to take her back. That he would even still want to be a part of her life, after she had kicked him out of hers only what? A week ago? _God_, things were a mess. But here she was, taking ownership of her mistakes, her issues, and her own limits.

My name is Veronica Mars, and I am not indestructible.  
_Hello, Veronica...._

_I Wish I Could Save You__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__I'm Not Going Nowhere__  
__I Wish I Could Say To You__  
__It's Gonna Be Alright_

She didn't know if it would be alright. She didn't know if he would take her back. She didn't know if he would even want to talk to her after all the hell she'd put him through. She didn't know if she could handle it if he didn't. She had to hope he still believed they were epic. Because Veronica was sure there'd be more bloodshed in their near future. The Sorokins wouldn't go down without a fight for sure. But damned if she'd make sure it wasn't his.

Veronica stood and went to the side of his bed, reaching down to lightly squeeze his hand. "We're gonna make them pay, Logan."

Walking to the door, Veronica took one more determined look back at the still figure laying in the bed, before turning and walking out, a determined look on her face.  
Because there was one thing she _did_ know.

No one messes with a Mars and gets away with it. _No one_.

_

* * *

_So what do you think?? Should I continue? I have at least two more scenes I wanna get out, so I'll probably post those anyway..... I'm also not opposed to people using or continuing any of these scenes if the need strikes them! Just ask me! I love reading more than writing (takes less work) so it'd be interesting to see where other people see them going from here!  
ReviewReviewReview!

-heratulipsia


	2. Bad Moon Rising

Here we go! Another chapter! I'm currently working on the next three or so all at once......

Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns them all.....

* * *

Veronica knew exactly how she should have been feeling at this very moment. After the plane touched down in Neptune, after an entire summer in Virginia, she should have felt a sense of accomplishment. She had worked with federal agents. _Actual_ federal agents, who enjoyed the job as much as she did, and felt it was their duty to make the world a safer place, taking out one scumbag at a time.  
She should have been geared up and ready for the school year; she should have this wonderful, exciting, reaffirmed confidence in the system.  
She _really_ wanted to feel that way.  
_Really._  
But Veronica didn't.  
Because if she thought she was in over her head before…_oh boy_, _was she in deep now_.

_Of course_ she would get herself involved in one of the most ridiculous, complicated, dangerous, intricate cases they had going. No intern was ever supposed to touch the Organized Crime Unit with a 39 ½ foot pole.  
So naturally, Veronica had gotten herself a front row seat.

When it came to authority figures, Veronica considered herself a pretty good judge of character, so after only about a week, she was able to ascertain who the best person was to talk to about the Sorokins. The minute she started talking to Harry, her intern team supervisor, he had pulled her into a conference room and locked her in. Talk about unnerving.... first week on the job and she managed to get herself quarantined. They made her sweat it out a whole ten minutes by herself, until two agents walked in, and she told them her story.

Veronica remembered how they looked at her when she was done. It was obvious they didn't want to believe her—as if a female college student could really manage to get herself into that much trouble. But with all the info and names she had, they really had no choice. She had just kind of shrugged at them, as if to say, "Yeah, well...welcome to my life in Neptune."  
They grilled her in that conference room that whole day, but she did learn a lot. Veronica discovered they knew who her dad was. And who Jake Kane was. And that they had an entire team dedicated to the Sorokin "situation" in Neptune. That they didn't have anyone under cover seemed a bit ridiculous to her, but apparently her information would help them catch a break.

How she and her dad had missed any type of FBI involvement in Neptune was beyond her, and if she was being honest, it irked her just a bit. That the team knew about Neptune's history and of Keith Mars boded well for her, and had made it easier to convince them that her dad would be an asset to them with his connections in town. Logan was a bit more of a stretch, but seeing as he had been assaulted and basically had his life threatened, he was involved whether he wanted to be or not.

Not that he knew it yet. But Veronica knew Logan would find it a welcome change that he was actually "in" on one of her cases. _Or one of the FBI's cases_, she conceded.  
It was at the same time a relief and a little weird that they knew so much about the goings on in Neptune. She did have to fill them in on some of the details—like the Castle. The Castle had somehow managed to stay off the radar until now. How, she had no idea...

Veronica was also getting frequent updates from Mac. Mainly about Logan and how he was recovering while still in the hospital, but then later about the general activity in Neptune. Veronica told her to use her computer magic for anything she deemed necessary. Everything had been pretty quiet, however, and she considered this not good. Agent Booth, head of the Sorokin team, assured her that if anything were going on, they'd know about it. This, however, had not stopped her from worrying.

No matter how weird it was for Booth and his team to collect intel from a few college kids, they assured her that her involvement was now necessary. Her more detailed description of the events from the end of the school year was apparently extremely helpful.  
_Hah! Imagine that. Veronica Mars…. debriefing the FBI._  
And yet, while the idea was glamorous, embarrassing was more the term Veronica chose to describe it. Having to tell a bunch of suits that your ex-boyfriend beat up the mob boss' son because he made a sex tape of you and your then current boyfriend? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Despite that, she had been able to develop a relationship of mutual respect with more than a few of the agents on the team, which was why she was extremely glad that Agent Levi was the one assigned to her, and was currently on the same flight back to Neptune as she was. They had established a way of communicating with each other, as he was staying at the Camelot and she'd been seen there one too many times. It was nothing exciting....just a couple of untraceable phones (which made her slightly proud of herself, since they were her method of secure communication as well). She had memorized his phone number, but was to wait for him to contact her. The plan was for him to do a little recon work....hang out at some of the shady bars in town (of which she happily informed him of- like the Stix), to see what he could find out and make his presence seem nothing out of the ordinary. She was to stay off the radar until Agent Levi deemed it necessary to bring her—and her dad and Logan—up to speed.

It'd be nice to not have so many secrets, but she knew neither Logan or her dad would be happy about her getting messed up with the Sorokins—whether by accident or not. Which was why she had slightly mixed feelings about having that conversation.  
But she had to wipe the concentrated, worried look off her face and put on a smile for her dad, who was waving at her as she walked up to baggage claim.

"Who's your daddy?" Keith Mars picked up his daughter and squeezed her tight.  
Veronica laughed at his favorite joke. As much as she hated it when he said that, she had missed him immensely.  
"You are!"  
They had of course talked on the phone and emailed back and forth the three months she was away, but Veronica was forbidden to tell him anything about the Sorokins. She didn't like it, and always felt like she was lying when she'd tell him she was going through piles of research and fetching coffee for her supervisors. This wasn't exactly untrue; she just left out the most important parts of her day—like her meetings with Agent Booth and the team.  
The team certainly knew what they were doing, but hadn't quite known what to do with her. They always looked surprised whenever she had something intelligent to add in their meetings. She figured this was why Booth assigned Agent Zach Levi to deal with her. Veronica was actually okay with that. Booth, while being extremely competent at his job, was a little intimidating, as she hadn't quite figured him out yet. Levi was a little easier to talk to, and with as much interaction as they had over the summer, she was comfortable with him, and trusted him. He didn't treat her like a little co-ed from California.

When her dad set her back down, she caught Levi's eye from across the baggage terminal. As he threw his bag over his shoulder, she silently conveyed _good luck_...and with a barely visible nod, he turned and walked out of the airport to hail a taxi.

On their way home, Veronica took in the sights around her. For some reason, even though it had only been 3 months, things in Neptune looked different to her. Bleaker. Dirtier. Greyer, even though it was 84 and sunny. Was it because she knew something big was coming? _Probably. _She sighed and sank down in the passenger seat—only to perk back up as they passed the Neptune Grand.

Veronica searched for his black SUV in the parking lot. Ignoring the fact that there multiple people staying at the Grand who drove one, and that she knew he would have most certainly parked it in the basement of the garage, she looked anyway. As if seeing his car would assure her he was still here. Still in Neptune and still… she didn't know....._alive_? Veronica shuddered at thinking otherwise.

Keith every once and a while glanced over at his daughter, as she was being uncharacteristically silent. But if he noticed her discomfort as she scanned the Grand parking lot, he made no comment.

"So I was thinking we get some take out tonight? Just you and me?"

"Italian?" She asked, perking up as she turned to look at him.

"Of course," he scoffed, as if he would get her anything else.

"Isn't Friday you're date night? You don't want to invite Mrs. Fennell over?" Veronica was actually happy that he had gotten back together with Alicia. On the phone, he always sounded so happy when he mentioned her. Veronica couldn't bring herself to dislike anything that made her dad that happy. He deserved it.

"Nah, I want you all to myself tonight. Besides, she's still catching up on her Wallace time."

"Didn't he get back on Tuesday?"

"Yup. She's pretty much keeping him captive. Smothering him as a worried and loving parent should."

Veronica just laughed. "I'm sure he's loving that."

"Don't laugh too hard. I'm keeping you on a short leash too this weekend. I missed you, kiddo."

"As long as you walk me and feed me," she smiled at him. As much as she had on her mind, a nice weekend with her dad sounded amazing. She could wait until Monday to catch up with Wallace and Mac. And Logan.

When Monday rolled around, Veronica was ready to catch up on some quality BFF time. She picked up Wallace, and after a quick hello to Mrs. Fennell and Darrell, they headed to the beach.  
For about an hour, they walked through the sand, highlighting their summers, discussing their parents, and talking about the upcoming year. When they sat down to rest, Veronica took Back-Up off his leash and pulled a tennis ball out of her pocket. She threw it down the beach, watching as Back-Up tore after it.  
Wallace was watching Veronica carefully, and when she noticed this, she sighed.  
"What?" she asked.

"What?" he countered.

"What do you not want to bring up?"

Wallace hated the subject of Logan, but he went ahead and brought it up anyway. "I saw Logan here the other day."

"Ok." Veronica didn't ask him to elaborate.

When he sees she won't respond further, he continued.

"We had a pretty civil conversation. He asked me how Africa was, told me about his summer.....He said he's thinking of buying a house, can you believe that? Some place near the beach. A freaking beach house," Wallace huffed. "It'd be nice to have that kind of money," he said, mostly to himself as Veronica had still remained silent.

"Only if it came without the murdered, murdering, famous child beating father, of course, right?" Veronica snapped.

He furrowed his brows at her. "V- you know that's not-"

Veronica stopped him with a shake of her head and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. That was stupid, I don't know why I said that." She knew Wallace didn't think like that.

He still looked at her curiously. "Boy's got a badass scar on his left eyebrow."

Veronica still said nothing, but closed her eyes as flash of hurt crossed her face.  
Wallace continued. "Said he got into a fight with a pair of tweezers.," he chuckled. "But somehow, even if he were the type to pluck his eyebrows, I doubt he'd do it himself...you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Wallace studied her, and watched as she threw the ball again. When she turned back, her mask was firmly in place.

"About Logan and his eyebrows? I've never seen him do it. But you never know. He's full of surprises."

He looked at her pointedly, and she amended "Just Logan being Logan, I expect. Probably got into a fight with Weevil or something."

Wallace continued to stare at her. Of course he'd know her well enough to know something was up. That she knew more than she was saying. She tried to placate him.

"Oh come on Wallace. Don't worry,...Nothing strange is afoot at the Circle K."

"Really? You sure about that? No dangerous case you're working on for him? No bad guys to hunt down?"

"Well, there are always bad guys to hunt down, but consider me all bad guyed out for a while. A summer full of them was enough. You should have seen the upstanding citizens we handled. Plus, you're the first person I've seen him since I've been back," she rushed on. "And since when do you care about Logan, anyway? I thought you were all team Piz."

"I was on team Piz, but even I can see he wasn't quite enough for you. I talked to him over email this summer too, and he's happy in New York. But Logan...you know, even after all the things you've been through with him.....I don't know…I don't _hate_ the guy, it's just you always get messed up in something bad every time he's back in the picture."

Veronica just stared at him. It was obvious he knew she was hiding something. She had to look away. Back-Up nudged her hand, and she picked up the ball again to throw it, but stopped when Wallace got up off the sand.

Obviously disappointed with her less than forthcoming attitude, he started back down the beach towards her car.

Veronica made a sound of frustration. _This is Wallace, she couldn't keep him the dark too....she trusted him. He never let her down.__  
_She laughed at herself. _I'm trying to turn over a new leaf, and here I am lying to my best friend the first time I see him? _But Veronica had to argue with herself. _He would offer to help, wouldn't he? And this has nothing to do with him. If he got involved he could get hurt......._

"Wallace....wait!" She quickly hooked Back-Up to his leash, and ran after him.

"No, Veronica," Wallace turned back to her. "You know, I think that internship was a bad thing for you, cause now you obviously think you're more indestructible than ever."

She laughed at that. "No......I learned I wasn't before I even got there, and it was nothing but reinforced all summer."

Wallace looked at her, puzzled.

"They beat him up right before I left. And he's lucky they didn't do more than that."

"They? What the hell did he get himself into now? Isn't he tired of—?

"It wasn't his fault," she defended him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it wasn't his fault. But I can't talk about it," she said reluctantly.

"Excuse me? Veronica, don't even _try_ to pull that shit with me."

"No, I mean I REALLY can't talk about it. I'm not _allowed_ to.....Yet."

Wallace's eyes grew wide, as he began to understand.

"Yeah. So, _actually_.... the internship was good—cause now I have big fish to help me. I'm not fighting up stream all by myself anymore. And I want to tell you. I do," she smiles at him. "I trust you, Wally, I'll just have to make them see that."

Wallace scowled at the nickname, then asked, "Them?"

"Look, the more people who don't know right now, the better. Just trust me, okay?"

He looked at her, and then nodded. She smiled at him, and impulsively reached up and gave him a big hug.

When she pulled back, he shook his head in disbelief and said, "Girl….."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh be_lieve_ me, I know."

She'd have to talk to Levi. It was tough for them to agree to telling her dad and Logan both, now she'd have to do some major convincing for Wallace. She might have to settle for telling him enough so he could know when he was in trouble... _Gah_! Why was life so complicated? She'd have to think about it later.

"Well we've got one more week until classes start again. Do you think you could maybe stay out of trouble at least until then? So we can enjoy what little free time we've got left?"

Veronica laughed. "You do realize you've just jinxed me, right? But I'll try."

_Right...._She had brought the trouble back with her.

After another hour, Back-Up seemed to have had enough. He was sprawled on the sand panting heavily.  
"Well," said Veronica, standing up and brushing the sand off her legs, "I think it's time for him to go home."

"Yeah, I've had enough sun for a while I think, too. My mom's been all about the little family outings since I've been back."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? We could have gone somewhere else…"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I knew you needed your beach fix. Virginia beaches are a lot different than good ole Cali-forn-I-A….or so I've been told."

Veronica laughed at him. "Well, I didn't spend too much time sunbathing so I couldn't really compare. Hey, have you seen Mac yet?"

"Yeah, I ran into her the other day."

"Well I haven't seen her yet. You wanna call her and meet up at the Java Hut?"

* * *

After stopping to drop the dog off at home, Veronica pulled into the Java Hut parking lot. As soon as they walked inside, they heard,

"Hey Bond!" Mac called them over from the couch in the back corner.

"Ah, Q!" Veronica plopped herself down next to Mac, and Wallace took the arm chair across from the two girls.

"How are they hanging my friend?"

"Oh you know… they wobble to and fro."

Veronica laughed as Wallace made a sound of disgust. "You girls are just weird. And gross."

"Oh come on Wallace, you're a guy. It's just guy talk."

"Guys do not say that. And you're both girls. It's awkward and wrong. So stop it."

They both just rolled their eyes at him.

"So, Agent Mars, how was playing with the big boys?"

"Good, but far less playing than I would have liked. Mostly paperwork and sitting in on meetings. And the research…My god! The _research_! Who knew you needed to know so much about the stupid government to work for the FBI?" Veronica said sarcastically.

"Not I…did you at least get to handle a gun? Like at one of those shooting ranges where you wear those earmuff things and shoot at the black bodies with the target rings on them?"

Veronica and Wallace both looked at her, amused by her enthusiastic questioning.

"What?" she asked. "I was here all summer while you were all the way across the country and you were halfway across the world. Law and Order marathons," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Veronica laughed, and answered, "Yeah, we did actually. That was probably the best part of the entire summer. Well, that and the self-defense martial arts training they had us doing. It was awesome. All Alias like!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Wallace, perking up. "You didn't mention that part. They teach you how to use your 100 pound body to your advantage?"

"Yeah, you just watch it Fennell, I am now more scrappy than ever!"

The three fell into easy conversation, talking about Mac's currently failing relationship with Max ("He just has no ambition! It's driving me crazy!"), Wallace's plans for charity events for Invisible Children in the fall ("Which you two _will_ be helping with."), and what all had been going on Neptune while Veronica and Wallace were away.

"By the way," Mac looked at Veronica, "This is the last Logan update I will ever give you. He's apparently in the market to buy a beach house."

"You're off your game, Q. Wallace already passed on that info. How'd he find out before you?"

"Hey it wasn't my fault. Dick kept ignoring my calls. I didn't hear from him 'til last night. He must have been with his dad or something."

Veronica shook her head, as if clearing it. "Wait, I'm sorry, you didn't hear from _who_ 'til last night?"

Mac just looked at her. She knew Veronica had heard her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Dick? You've been talking to _Dick_?"

"Well how else do you think I've been getting all your information?" Mac asked, exasperated. "I wasn't about to tap into security cameras at the Grand."

"I don't know, but I figured you'd rather get buddy-buddy with Logan than Dick. You know, the actual source rather than brain dead sidekick."

"I had to improvise. Logan was basically hiding the whole summer. The first time I saw him out he had pretty much healed over."

_Well at least he was smart about something_. _Laying low was good_.

"Did you know about this?" Veronica asked, looking at Wallace.

"Her and Dick? How would I know? I've been more out of touch than you…"

"There is no me and Dick. I ran into him here and figured he was a good a source as any, you know, since they _live together_ and everything."

"But _Dick?_ I am so sorry I left you with that as your only option," she said with an overly exaggerated look of pity on her face.

"Oh please, he may be an ass, but he's pretty much harmless."

Veronica raised her eyebrows in disbelief, but Mac continued on, as if not noticing her friend's silent question of _Are you kidding me?__  
_

"And he actually took good care of Logan. I didn't even have to threaten him with you." Veronica's face softened into a small smile at that. No matter how ridiculous Dick was, you could say one thing for him- he was incredibly protective of, and loyal to Logan.

"Once you smack the dirty comments out of him he's not _that_ horrible."

Veronica's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "How hard did you have to hit him?"

As Wallace laughed, Veronica's phone rang, and she pulled it out of her bag to answer it.

"What up, Dadeo?"

_"Hey honey, listen, I got some bad news."__  
_

"You won't be home for dinner bad news or someone killed my pony bad news?"

_"You don't have a pony."__  
_

"Oh, right."

_"I got a lead on a bail jumper in Arizona bad news. I gotta go track him down."__  
_

"So you _won't_ be home for dinner. And I was gonna make something special."

_"Sorry honey, rain check?"__  
_

"Yeah, yeah...you on your way already?"

_"I'm about an hour outside of Neptune."__  
_

"And you're just now calling? Jeez I feel loved," she kidded him.

_"Right, well, don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, okay? This should only take a day or two. There's some money in my desk if you need anything. Other than a pony, that is."__  
_

"Spoil all my fun."

_"I love you, honey. Call if you need anything, okay?"__  
_

"Love you too Dad. Go bring home the dough!"

When she hung up, Wallace asked her, "So your Dad's hot on the trail of some bad guy?"

"As always. Looks like it's just me and the dog tonight."

"You want some company? I'm supposed to be watching a movie with Darrell but I'm sure I could sneak away..."

"And I could probably get away from our 'family dinner...' " Mac added.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm thinking some Chinese and a little couch time with Back-Up will be good."

* * *

Veronica carried her paper bag of Chinese food out the restaurant's door and made her way to her car. She could smell the egg rolls through the greasy bag, and she was _starving_.  
She looked across the street. _The Stix_. She told herself it was only a coincidence she chose the place right across from the bar. She scanned the parking lot...what kind of car would Levi have rented? Something inconspicuous.....would he even be in there? She hoped he was being careful...

Veronica clicked her keychain to unlock her doors, and walked around to the driver's side. As she reached in to dump the food on the passenger seat, she heard quick footsteps behind her. Knowing she wouldn't have enough time to get into her car and lock it, thinking quickly, she threw her keys on the car floor of her car and fumbled for the taser inside her bag. But she wasn't quick enough. A hand snaked around and covered her nose and mouth with a white cloth.  
_Seriously?_ Was the last though she had, before her world went black.

* * *

Fun props to two of my other fav shows on right now….Chuck and Bones. I think it's kinda fun to throw in some recognizable names…..I almost made it agent john casey instead of zach levi (actor who plays chuck- I thought bartowski was a little much ), but there is already a Casey associated with VM, and just in case I ever want to mention him, I figured it could get confusing…..oh well Hope you enjoyed. Please review- even if its to tell me I've messed up some details- im trying to brush up on my cannon but it's been a while! I welcome suggestions for story line/writing! Next one already in the works!

ReviewReviewReview!


	3. A Little Fall of Rain

Here we go! Some LoVe interaction! Get ready for it!  
I changed the rating for this chapter b/c of some minor language. It wouldn't be LoVe without a little yelling, right?

Thanks to all my reviewers! I greatly appreciate them and would love more! Even if it's to tell me I use italics too much or the "..." You can tell me. _Really_... :)  
I've been using italics for flashbacks, phone conversations of the person on the other line, and for emphasis. I think they're ok, but if you find any of it annoying, let me know!

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

* * *

Veronica burst through the back doors of the Stix, running in the direction of her car. She was clutching her shirt closed, trying to keep pressure on her bleeding chest.  
Running around the front of the building, she almost cried with relief. Her car was still there—the driver's side door was still open and her bag was still on the ground—right where she had dropped it (_God_ they were stupid). She dove in and locked her door. She grappled for her keys underneath her seat and let out a cry of pain as her ribs hit the steering wheel.

_Well I guess we know at least one of them is cracked_. She stuffed the key in and turned the ignition, and peeled out of the parking lot.

With every quick breath she took Veronica's eyes watered with pain, but she fought through it. She couldn't drive and focus if she couldn't see. When she took the hand off her chest to dig for the phone in her bag, her ripped shirt fell open and blood oozed from the cut.  
"_Shit_," she hissed, returning her shaking hand.

She'd have to get somewhere safe before she called Levi. Where could she go? She needed help, and she couldn't go home, that was too dangerous, and only Backup was there, so...

Making a snap decision, she cut across two lanes of traffic to make a left turn, heading towards the Grand. Although she didn't imagine herself looking _quite_ like this the first time she saw Logan again, she didn't really have another choice. She couldn't stop somewhere to call Wallace or Mac. Danny had to have found the other guy in the basement by now- and she couldn't risk anyone coming after her.  
She glanced in the rear view mirror. She was ok. No one was following her.

Almost barreling through the gate into the Neptune Grand parking garage, Veronica grabbed a ticket and flew around the corner, searching for Logan's car. Never in her life had she thought she'd ever miss his ugly, ridiculous big-bird car, but the obvious yellow would have been a beacon of light amidst all the dark colored SUV's, like the one he now drove. She hoped —prayed— he was here.

* * *

Logan flipped through the channels on the flat screen. Friday night TV _blew_. Throwing the remote on the couch, he leaned back and ran his hands down his face, groaning. He was extremely bored. Friday night, and he was home on his couch. There were no doubt a few parties he could be at; more people were coming back from summer vacation and campus was getting a bit rowdy. Dick had sent him a text to go over to the Pi Sig house for some beer pong, but for some reason that didn't appeal to him tonight. A drunk Dick was not something he had the energy to deal with- and he would no doubt be getting hammered. He had spent the day with Big Dick. He never talked about them, but always got plastered when he came back.  
Logan knew he'd just end up passing out on a couch over there, and that was not how he wanted to end his night. His own comfortable bed complete with room service in the morning sounded much better.  
_Better enjoy it while you can_, Logan thought. _I'll be cooking for myself once I get my own place.__  
_He had a quick flash of him and Veronica making breakfast together, flipping pancakes and dropping them on the floor, laughing.  
_Like that will ever happen...__  
_He sighed and got up to grab a beer from the fridge. Before he had time to open it, he heard knocking on the door. He debated whether or not to go answer it, not really feeling in the mood to talk to anyone. When the knocking became a little more forceful, Logan sighed, leaving his beer unopened on the counter, and went to answer the door.

* * *

Veronica leaned against the doorframe, and closed her eyes. She kicked the door this time, not wanting to lift her arms again. _What if he wasn't here? What if he was out with Dick somewhere? What was she going to do then? Wait outside his room all night?_

But Veronica thankfully didn't have to find out. The door swung open. She sighed with relief as Logan stood before her.

"Veronica?" he asked incredulously.

"Hey, Logan. Can I come in?" She gave him a weak smile.

"Fuck, Veronica what the hell happened to you?" he asked, widening the door to let her inside. He gently took her bag off her shoulder and let it fall to the floor.  
She limped her way inside, and he reached around her waist to support her, but let go when Veronica let out a cry of pain.

"Ribs. Careful," she said in explanation.

He carefully helped her over to sit on the couch.

"Veronica, you're bleeding." He said, staring at her hands clutching her chest.

"I know."

"Lemme see," he said, pulling her hands away. Her left palm was cut- she had forgotten about that. He put it gently in her lap, and they both sucked in their breath when he pulled her ruined shirt away. It had started to stick to her blood, and Logan saw the 4-inch long cut that ran below her collarbone.

"Who the hell did this?"

She ignored the question. "Can you get me my bag, please?"

He crossed back to the door where he had dropped it, and brought it over to the couch. She dug in the front pocket with her good hand, took out the phone Levi had given her, and dialed the number she had memorized. Logan sat in the armchair next to her, clearly at a loss as to what was going on.

"Levi. It's me," she said when he answered.

_"Veronica. I thought we discussed this_. I'm _supposed to contact _you_..."_

"Yeah, well....we've kind of got ourselves a little situation."

_"What kind of situation?"_

_"I had a little run in with the Fitzpartricks."_

_"What? Veronica are you kidding me?" Logan jumped out of the armchair, furious. __The Fitzpartricks? What the hell had she got herself into now?_

_"What the hell Veronica? I told you to not do anything stupid!"_ Levi exclaimed over the phone the same time as Logan. She closed her eyes, wincing at all the shouting.

"It's not like I went looking for them!" she responded to both their outbursts. "They're involved with—" she paused, glancing at Logan, and finished cryptically, "everything. I swear, I was out getting food and one of them jumped me."

_"What happened? Are you okay?"__  
_

"Ah...not really," she replied, telling the truth.

_"Where are you?"__  
_

"I'm at the Neptune Grand."

_"The Grand? With Logan?"__  
_

"Yeah. With Logan." Her eyes darted over to his and she saw his eyebrows raise in confusion. _Who the hell was she talking to?__  
_

_"Damnit Veronica, I can't risk coming over there yet. They could have followed you. Are you safe?"__  
_

"I'm fine for now. I'm safe here. No one followed me."

If Logan had taken time to process what she had just said, that comment—that she felt safe with him—would have meant something huge. Trust. But it barely even registered as he took note of her injuries.

_"Well stay there,"_ Levi told her forcefully.

"I was planning to. Do you, um....have someone you could send to patch me up over here? I'm not in the best of shape," she told him, looking down at herself. Her face probably didn't look too hot either. Her cheek was no doubt turning purple from where he had smacked her.

Logan snorted, got up and went into his room, coming back with a wet towel.

_"Jesus Veronica, what happened?"_ Levi asked.

"Probably not the best thing to—" she hissed again as Logan pressed the towel against the cut on her chest "—discuss over the phone."

_"We've got someone at the hospital. I can have him there in fifteen minutes. He's good. You need stitches?"__  
_

Veronica lifted the towel from her chest and looked at the cut, wincing. It had stopped bleeding, but still looked pretty nasty.  
"Yeah, probably."

She could hear him sigh over the phone, no doubt trying to remain calm with her.

_"Okay, I'll get him over there. There's no one at your place? You're dad left for Arizona earlier today, right?"__  
_

"Yeah. It's just the dog. That's why I came here."

_"Do NOT move. Call your Dad, get him back here. Shit....I'll be over first thing in the morning. Do NOT leave, you got me?"__  
_

"Yeah, I got you."

"_Shit_...._the Fitzpatricks_." He sighed again. _"This just got a whole lot messier."__  
_

"Tell me about it."

_"Listen, Veronica, I know you're gonna want to tell Logan everything now, but wait for me, ok?"__  
_

She looked at Logan again, and he was entirely focused on her, hanging on her every word.

"I don't think that's really gonna fly..." He looked intense and furious—and extremely confused, which if she knew Logan, was making it worse.

Levi sighed again. "_Fine. Just don't get too detailed yet, okay? Wait for me so we can debrief him and your dad together?_"

"Right."

_"Okay…I'll be there first thing in the morning. I've got to call Booth about this..."__  
_  
She hung up, and immediately dialed her dad's cell phone number. It rang four times and went to voicemail. _Well this is going to be an awkward message._

"Dad....you need to come back. There's been sort of a...development. With the Fitzpatricks. " Veronica winced as she said the name. Even though she knew she was talking to a machine and he wouldn't respond, she paused, expecting an outburst.  
"I'm okay, but don't go home. Come straight to the Grand. I'm staying with Logan. We'll explain everything when you get here." She paused, and added, "I love you. Be Careful." Her hand fell down and she gently rested her head on the back of the couch, and her eyes closed again.

The room was silent while Logan stared at her.

"You gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" he demanded.

She didn't open her eyes. "Yes."

Logan looked surprised. He didn't know what to say to that. _She was going to tell him? Since when did she tell him anything?__  
_

"But could you get me some water first?" Veronica asked. "And maybe a new shirt?" she added.

Logan looked at her, still slightly confused, before going to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He untwisted the cap and handed it to her, before going to his room.

"Thanks," she said, as she took a big gulp. She was thirsty as hell.

Logan came back with a button-down shirt. "I figured this would be easier than a sweatshirt or something."

"Yeah." Logan gently peeled the bloodied shirt away from her front, and slowly rolled it down her back so she didn't have to move her arms. She felt slightly exposed in her blue cotton bra, and she quickly tired to put her arms in the shirtsleeves. It was a mistake, however, as her chest muscles tightened, and caused pain to shoot throughout her ribs and her cut to twitch. She watched as a trickle of blood dripped down her stomach.

Veronica let out a shaky breath.

"Here." He lowered her arm back down. He picked up the towel and wiped up the dripping blood. "Keep pressure on that." Logan then took the shirt, rolled up the left sleeve, and with her arm by her side, stuck her hand in and dragged it up her arm, carefully so she didn't have to move.

"Thank you," she said as she put her arm through the other sleeve. "Someone's coming to....patch you up?" he asked.

"Yeah, they should be here any minute."

Logan opened his mouth to speak again, but Veronica stopped him.

"I know you have questions, and I promise, I'll answer all of them. But can we wait until after?"

Before Logan had a chance to respond, there was a knock on the went to get up, when Logan stopped her.

"I got it. Stay here."

Logan walked to the door, and when he saw the medic on the other side, opened it wider.

"I'm Devon? Agent Levi called me... Told me someone needed medical attention?"

"That would be me," Veronica said, standing up from the couch and turning around to face him. Her eyes widened a little bit, in appreciation.

"Alright...." Logan let him in and shut the door. Devon quickly walked over to her and set his bag down on the coffee table. "What are we working with?" If this were any other day, and she wasn't bruised and bleeding... Veronica would have blushed. Devon was hot. Awesomely hot.

Dismissing that thought, she sat down again and opened the left side of her shirt wide.

Devon whistled when he saw her wound, but asked no questions, which Veronica greatly appreciated.

"This is going to need stitches."

"Yeah, I figured."

He pulled out a needle to thread. "It might be easiest if we take off this shirt. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, and he helped her take off the shirt she had just put on.

Logan hovered behind the couch, quiet.

Devon finished bandaging her chest, and picked up her hand and studied it.

"This looks worse than it is. You shouldn't need stitches, but I'm going to wrap it for you."

Veronica just nodded. He looked at Logan, who was watching them. "When you change this bandage, make sure you put some type of antibiotic on to sterilize it," he said, taking out some sort of spray can. "I'll leave this here with you. We don't want either of these to get infected."

When he sprayed her hand, it stung she drew in a quick breath, causing pain once again to shoot through her ribs, and she winced.

"Are your ribs broken?" he asked. If Devon was at all wondering how she had gotten herself messed up like this, it didn't show.

"At least two, I think." Logan let out an angry huff, got up, and went to the counter behind them, opened the beer he'd left there and took a long swig. Setting it back down, he braced his hands wide against the counter, white-knuckled. He was.... _mad didn't even begin to cover it_.

Devon had her breathe out and release all her air, and he pulled the bandage tight and wrapped it around her ribs, nice and snug.

"That should hold them tight. Try not to twist or stretch too much, okay? Keep your mobility down as much as you can for the next day or two. I can't do much for the bruise on your face," he said, eyeing her cheek. "Ice and ibuprofen is about all you can do," he said with a sympathetic smile.

"I hit my head, too. I have a headache, but I don't think I have a concussion...."

"Well let's check just in case," he said, and pulled out his light pen. "Follow the light."  
He checked a few more things before concluding, "Nope, no concussion. But you do have a nasty bump back here. You must have a hard head," he said feeling the bump beneath her hair. "Again, ice and ibuprofen." He put the light back in his bag. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't think so…." she answered him.

"She was limping when she came in." Logan spoke up from behind the couch.

"Ok, lets take a look." Veronica picked up her feet, and pulled up her jeans. Her eyes widened when she saw that one ankle was slightly larger than the other. She hadn't even felt it through all her other injuries, but if she concentrated, she could feel the dull throbbing of her left foot. _Danny must have tweaked it when he pulled me off the stairs.  
__Devon picked it up gently, and while flexing her foot and putting a little pressure on her heel, turned it to the side. Veronica sucked in her breath again, when a sharp pain shot up her foot._

"Well, it's not broken. I wouldn't be able to move it that much if it was. Probably just a slight sprain. I can wrap that for you too?" Veronica nodded.  
Devon looked up and spoke to Logan. "Could you get me some ice in a bag, please? I'll wrap it around her foot."

Logan did what he asked, grabbing the ice tray from the freezer and finding a bag under the sink. He brought it over and hovered behind Devon, watching him wrap her ankle.

"Ok," he said when he was all finished. "You should be all patched up. Ice that bump on the back of your head, and keep the ankle elevated to keep the swelling down. And change those bandages twice a day, okay? Do you feel nauseous at all?"

"No, not really."

"Well, try to eat something with the pills, ok?" He reached in his bag, and pulled out some extra bandages and gauze, setting them on the coffee table. He grabbed a few cards and handed one to her and one to Logan. "Call me if you need anything else. I'll check up with Levi in a few days. Take it easy, okay?"

"I will, thanks."

Logan walked Devon to the door and shook his hand. "Thank you."

Devon nodded and stepped out into the hall, bag on his shoulder, and Logan closed the door behind him. He then went into the kitchen, grabbed a big bottle of painkillers from one of the cabinets, and brought them back to set in front of Veronica.

Neither of them said anything, until Logan couldn't take it anymore.

"So the Fitzpartricks? What the hell were you thinking and who was that on the phone?"

"Yes, the Fitzpartricks, but I swear, I didn't go looking for them," she defended herself. "I was getting take out from that Chinese place across from the Stix and when I had my back turned someone- I'm assuming it was Danny or one of the other guys- knocked me out with some chemical or something. I didn't know why they grabbed me until Danny started asking questions about Virginia."

"Virginia? So this has something to do with the FBI?"

"Yeah. That's who Levi is. He's an agent with the Organized Crime Unit."

Logan blinked at her. "Organized Crime? As in like the mob?"

"Yeah. Except this didn't start with the Fitzpartricks. I had no idea they were even involved until I heard Danny mention the names Ivan and Lev when he was on the phone with Liam."

"Lev? As in Goyra _Sorokin's_ Uncle Lev?"

"Apparently. Who else would want me 'out of the picture'?" she snorted.

"Jesus, Veronica. How the hell did you get involved with this in the first place?" Veronica refused to yell back at him, and calmly answered.

"I went to Levi and the OCU with the info I had on Goyra and his dad and uncle."

"You _what_? Veronica are you INSANE?" Logan stood up and started pacing.

"No. After what they did? What was I supposed to do?"

"Veronica, I get that that sex tape was embarrassing, but come on—" he started, rolling his eyes.

"Not what they did to me you idiot. To you."

Logan stopped and fell silent, facing her.

"What? You think I didn't know?" she asked.

Logan opened and closed his mouth a few times, before sitting down on the couch beside her. He ran his hands through his hair.

"I don't know. You were gone."

"I was there. For two straight days. I had to leave before you woke up."

He looked at her, a question in his eyes, and she lifted up her good hand to trace the scar on his eyebrow.

"Wallace was right. This _is _pretty badass." She smiled at him, and they locked eyes. Before things got too intense, Veronica cleared her throat and dropped her hand, looking away.  
She grabbed the oversized bottle of pills on the table.

"Thank God for Dick and his hangovers. Can we still get room service at….12:30?" she asked, looking at the clock on the wall.

"This is the Presidential Suite. We can get whatever you want."

After ordering her some food (a salad and a hamburger -"_You have to eat some_real_food"_), Logan picked up their conversation where they left off.

"So the FBI is involved."

"Yes. Levi's trying to set a little ground work here by himself before the rest of the team comes in."

"The rest of the team? What, is Neptune gonna be swarming with Feds before long? "

"Yeah. They need to find the evidence to back up Goyra's confession I saw on the tape. This is probably a lot bigger than that, though."

"Bigger how, exactly?"

"Besides murder and assault and battery? We're not sure, exactly. Drugs? Some kind of prostitution ring? Drugs is the most likely, now that we know the Fitzpartricks are involved."

Logan paused to absorb this. "So Levi is gonna try to go undercover?"

"Maybe. If he has to. Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

Logan sighed, then looked at her questioningly. "Not that I'm not appreciative, but why are you telling me all this?"

"Cause I don't want to lie anymore," she told him truthfully. "I told Booth and Levi I would tell you and my dad everything—whether they wanted me to or not. And you're kind of involved anyway, if Goyra's still all butt-hurt about you beating him up. Who knows what else he could get his 'lackeys' to do."

"Right," Logan said, clearly still thinking.

Interrupted by her food arriving, they fell silent while she began to eat. Logan got up to get more ice from the freezer, and came back handing her a smaller bag to put behind her head.  
She took it from him, and looked up at him asking, "I guess I never really asked, but you're okay with me staying here tonight, right?"

He just looked at her. "No. Get out," he deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "Well you haven't really clued me in as to how you feel about any of this…" she said, feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable. She honestly didn't know the answer.  
He blinked at her.

"I'm...I'm.....I don't even know if mad is the right word—cause you were incredibly stupid for getting messed up in this in the first place--"

"Logan! They all but left you for dead—"

"But I _am_ glad you aren't trying to do all of it by yourself- which I wouldn't put past you…."

"Yeah, well, I decided to do things a little differently this time." She gave him a small smile, and got up.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh…the bathroom?" She tried to hobble with the ice pack on her ankle.

"Here." Logan let her lean on him and walked her through his room and into the attached bathroom. He would have carried her in there if he wasn't afraid of crushing her ribs.  
When she came out, he was sitting on the bed.

"You okay?" he asked, when she just stood there.

"I just want to sleep. Can I have one of the pillows? I'll crash on the couch."

"Veronica, take the bed."

"What? No- the couch is comfy…"

"I don't care. Come on." She sighed as he helped her up onto the bed.

A thought occurred to her. "Where's Dick?"

"Pi Sig house- he won't be back til tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

"Do you want a pair of sweatpants?" he asked her, noticing she was still in her jeans.

"Um...yeah. That'd be good."

He grabbed a pair from the dresser, handed them to her and turned to leave.

Veronica looked down at her pants, and tried to undo the button, but couldn't get it with only one hand. And leaning down to get out of them? That wasn't happening. Not with her chest bound so tight. The thought made her head swim.

"Uh, Logan….?"

"What?" he turned back.

She didn't know how to tell him she couldn't bend over to take off her pants.

"You need help?" he asked, correctly reading the embarrassment on her face.

"Yeah." She blushed and looked anywhere but at him.

He came back, and stood in front of her, slightly closer than she thought was necessary. Veronica kept trying to undo her jeans, when Logan's hand covered her own, and she dropped hers to her side. He unbuttoned her jeans and slowly slid the zipper down. She realized she was holding her breath. _God_ if she wasn't in a world of pain..... She could feel his breath on the top of her head, and swore she could hear his heart beating just as loudly as hers was. He bent down and began to shimmy the jeans down her legs. She rested her hands on his shoulders for balance, and stepped out of them. He reached for the sweatpants on the bed, and held them out for her to step into, and slowly pulled them up her body. They were fairly large on her, so he rolled them twice, and when his hands lightly grazed her bare hip, she inhaled sharply. They both just stood there, neither making a move to back away.

Another breath.

This time Logan stepped away.

Veronica sat back on the bed, quietly murmuring, "Thanks."

"Right, well, I'll be out there if you need anything, okay? Just holler."

"Wait." She grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving.

"Can you….stay with me for a while?"

Logan looked at her hand on his arm, then into her eyes. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen her look that vulnerable. He sat and scooted to the other side of the bed, far enough away so they weren't touching. Veronica lay down, not sure what to do. S_crew it,_ she decided. She moved over, every so gently, so she was lightly pressed by his side.

Logan, surprised at the contact, questioned, "Veronica?"

"I just… Could you just…til I fall asleep?" she asked, knowing he would know what she wanted.

Logan slid down and started to lift his arm to wrap it around her, but stopped when he remembered her ribs. She took his hand and draped it around her stomach, and finally sighed a breath of relief. She closed her eyes and a few tears leaked out. Logan, seeing this, stroked her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're ok. You're ok." She let out a choked sob, as the events of the day caught up to her.

She finally felt safe enough to let her guard down. Hell, even with her injuries, this was the best she felt all day. Safe, in his arms. She knew he would have more questions—about this situation she had just dragged him into, and about…them. And she would give him answers. But right now she was exhausted.

She let the reassuring sound of his voice lure her into a deep sleep.

* * *

ReviewReviewReview! It makes me write faster! And I've got some good LoVe in my head just dying to come out!


	4. Happiness is a Warm Gun

We hear about Veronica's run-in with the Fitzpatricks! I couldn't keep you in suspense for _too_ long! A little more LoVe, and look for a little MaDi coming your way soon, cause I just love it. :)

Enjoy and review please!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em…I just pretend to in order to bend them to my will.

* * *

Veronica opened her eyes. It took a second for her to remember where she was. Logan's room.

She gently pushed herself up so she was propped against the pillows. She ached all over. And not for the usual reason she ached when waking up in Logan's bed. Oh, the times they had had in this bed. _At least then it would've been worth it…__  
_

She heard the toilet flush, and the object of her thoughts opened the bathroom door.

"Hey. You're up. How do you feel?"

"Like I got ran over by a semi." She groaned, thunking her head back on the headboard and wincing. She still had a slight bump back there. She closed her eyes. "Ugh…I could use another 2 hours of sleep."

"Did they wake you up?" he asked, nodding his head towards the living room behind the closed bedroom door.

"Who?" She opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly.

"You're dad and Agent Levi. They've been arguing for about twenty minutes. "

"They're here? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" She threw back the covers and scooted to the edge of the bed.

She stood up too fast, and was slightly light headed. She put too much pressure on her bad ankle, and let out puff of air before sitting hard back on the bed.

"Whoa, hey, hey, take it easy," he said reaching to help her when she tried to stand up again.

She let him hold her by her good shoulder and lead her towards the door. She looked up at him and asked, "When did my Dad get here?"

"He called your phone last night while you were asleep. He got here maybe around 4-ish? He came in to check on you but you were pretty out of it."

"You talked to him on the phone? What did you tell him?" She stopped their progress.

He looked down at her. "That you were hurt, but safe. And that you didn't come back alone from Virginia."

"Damnit. And now he's met Levi already."

"Veronica what did you want me to tell him? That message you left was pretty cryptic."

"Oh, I know- I'm not mad at you. I just... wanted to be able to tell him some of this myself before he met Levi. You know, prepare him."

"We're you planning on…preparing me?"

"No," she confessed. "Honestly, I was going to show up and blindside you. I wasn't sure if you'd even still talk to me. I didn't even know if you'd still be here when I came last night. For all I knew you'd bought a house and moved already."

"Bought a house?"

"Yeah. You're looking for one aren't you?"

"Veronica, have you been keeping tabs on me?" Logan asked, slightly amused and slightly…..he didn't really _know_ what.

"Uh……no?"

He just raised his eyebrows at her, and she turned back towards the door.

"Come on." She began to hobble by herself.

"Veronica," he said, stopping her.

"What?" She turned back to him.

"You might want to…." He motioned to her shirt, which hung unbuttoned. He of course, wouldn't have minded if she stayed looking like that all day. Her tiny frame in one of his shirts was sexy as hell. But this obviously wasn't the time for any of those thoughts.

"Oh right." Once again, Veronica was having trouble with the buttons with only one and half working hands. Logan chuckled at her, and walked up and did up the shirt for her.

"My _God_ I'm becoming an invalid," she said, to try and ease the tension of their bodies being so close once again.

"You? Never," he told her quietly, doing the last button. "But we'll need to change those dressings."

"After," she said, taking a deep breath before opening the door.

"I don't care what you told her!" Keith was yelling. "I come back here to find my daughter all sliced up and bruised so I damn well better be getting some answers!" Both Keith and Levi were standing in front of the couch, and turned when they heard the bedroom door open.

"Veronica!" Keith hurried over to her and hugged her. Veronica hugged him back as best she could. Logan went and sat in the armchair next to the couch.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm all patched up," she smiled up at him.

"You wanna tell me why on earth you needed to be patched up to begin with? Logan mentioned the Fitzpatricks, and I can't get anything else out of this guy," he said, motioning to Levi.

"Yeah…. I see you've met Agent Levi. When did you get here?" she asked Levi.

"About 20 minutes ago."

"You wanna tell me why you're involved with an FBI agent and the Fitzpatricks?" her dad asked her.

"It's not really about the Fitzpatricks. Or it wasn't, until now."

"What do you mean?" Keith's voice was very firm.

"Veronica, I don't think—"

"I don't care what you think right now, I'm talking to my daughter!"

This was not good. Her dad and Levi were not getting off to a good start.

"Dad…it's okay. Levi's with the Organized Crime Unit and they're here because of the Sorokins."

"Veronica," Levi had warned her about what she was and was not permitted to tell them.

"Oh come on! Either you tell them or I will!"

"No- Veronica I told you we would do this my way or not at all!" He all but yelled, trying to keep control over the conversation.

"She can tell me whatever she wants!" Keith yelled back at him.

Logan watched the two men have their stand off, almost smirking. It seemed Mr. Mars didn't care he was talking to an FBI agent at all. He admired his unabashed confidence. Logan agreed with Keith, though. He hadn't quite gotten to size up Agent Levi himself yet, and he wanted to hear what Veronica had to say, too.

"Mr. Mars. Keith. Let's get one thing straight, alright?" Levi stone-faced him. "I get that you're upset. I get it. But you're going to know exactly what I tell you. And nothing more. This is an FBI operation, and you—all three of you—are civilians. This situation is unprecedented, and we're not entirely sure how we're going to proceed yet. So for the time being, you'll listen to me and do what I say, understood?" Despite his laid-back and casual appearance, Levi could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. Veronica had only glimpsed why he was considered such a prized agent in the office, but this was apparently why.

"This is my daughter for Christ sakes! My 20-year-old daughter! I think I'm allowed to be upset and deserve to know everything when she gets herself involved with the mob!"  
"I understand you're worried—and believe me—I am too," he continued. "She seems to be a magnet for trouble, if last night's events are anything to go by."

Logan snorted. _You don't know the half of it._

Veronica furrowed her brows in his direction. _Not helping, Logan_.

"We're going to need your cooperation with this. You know this town better than any of us, so we're going to have to work together," he said a little calmer. "But you have to follow my lead, got it?" Keith looked at him. When he nodded, Veronica sighed. If her dad had stopped arguing, that was a good sign.  
"Now," he said, turning to Veronica, "Why don't you enlighten us as to your little adventure last night before we go any further."  
They all turned to look at her.

* * *

_"Ver-ronnnn-icaaaaa... Ver-ronnnn-icaaaaa..." someone singsonged.__  
_

_She began to open her eyes. Her vision was fuzzy and her head fell from side to side as someone slapped her face.__  
_

_"Ah...there she is!"__  
_

_She blinked a few times to focus on her surroundings. And on who was in front of her.__  
_

_Danny Boyd.  
_Great.

_When she tried to get up off the chair she was sitting in, he pushed her back down and she winced when her arms were smashed against the chair. Her hands were ducked taped behind her back, but least she knew she wasn't tied to the chair itself. That would make getting away easier. Hopefully...__  
__  
__"You know, we've been wanting to have a little chat with you, Veronica. Talk about your little field trip to Virginia. Imagine my luck when you show up across the street."__  
_

_"We?"__  
_

_"Oh, yeah. You know. Liam, me…all your old friends. Seems like you've been causing some problems for us."__  
_

_"Oh, I'm pretty sure you cause enough problems all by yourselves," she told him.__  
_

_He smirked at her.__  
_

_"So where's Liam? Let's get this over with. What? He's not man enough to take care of little old me by himself? Had to send you to do his work for him?" Veronica's mind was working over time. She had to keep him talking so she could come up with a plan. If she could get him closer she could try to use her legs to knock him off his feet. They were thankfully untied._

_Danny didn't disappoint her. He _was_ kind of stupid. _

"_Oh no, you're gonna be a surprise for him," he leered at her, leaning over and putting his hands on the chairs arm.__  
_

_"You know, as much I'd love to stay and wait for him, I think I'll PASS!" Veronica leaned back and head butted him, then when he fell back, she lifted her feet up and kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. Not wasting time to see if went down, she ran towards the stairs behind him.__  
_

_"You BITCH!" he cried, crouching over.__  
_

_She almost made it when he lunged after her and managed to grab her by the ankle. She fell forward, and without her hands to break her fall, Veronica smacked onto the concrete steps. She heard a crack; the wind was knocked out of her and her vision blurred with tears. She was momentarily paralyzed by the pain in her chest as he dragged her back across the floor and flipped her over and straddled her. Veronica whimpered as his legs pressed down on her damaged ribs and her bound hands and arms were crushed underneath her body.__  
_

_"Oh Veronica, did that hurt?" He feigned sympathy. __Tears leaked from her eyes—from pain and fear. This was not a position she wanted to be in._

_ "You know, last time I talked to you, I seem to remember you were looking to get some plastic surgery done." Veronica's eyes widened.__  
__"I don't want to cut up that pretty face of yours," he said, grabbing her face in his hand, "but let's see what else we can do." She started squirming and rocking side to side to roll him off, but Danny backhanded her hard across the cheek, causing her eyes to water once again.__  
_

_"My, my, you are feisty. This is gonna be fun." __He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a switchblade, and cut the top two buttons of Veronica's shirt, revealing her blue cotton bra.__  
__"I think we need to do a little slicin' and dicin', what do you think?" Veronica let out a cry of pain as he dragged the knife across her chest. Blood gushed down her side and stomach, and Danny laughed as more tears leaked from her eyes.__  
_

_"Danny!" A voice sounded from upstairs. "It's Liam. He doesn't sound too happy." Whoever was standing at the top of the stairs waved a cell phone at him.__  
_

_"Fuck... Sorry to cut this short, doll, but I got some business to take care of. I'll be right back," he said, running his grubby finger down her face. She threw her head to the side to turn away, but Danny gave her a little smack on her purpling cheek before turning and taking the stairs two at a time.__  
_

_He grabbed the phone and motioned back to Veronica. "Watch her. She's a feisty one."__  
_

_The guy looked down at her and smirked, but stayed at the top of the stairs, and his eyes followed Danny as he disappeared from Veronica's sight.__  
_

_She could still hear some of his conversation... "I thought you said Lev wanted her out of the picture?"__  
_

_Wait, Lev? As in _Uncle Lev Sorokin_?__  
__Well shit.__  
__This wasn't good. She had to get out of there now.__  
_

_She looked around for something she could cut the tape binding her hands with. She was obviously in a basement, and the Stix made the most sense. There was a metal work bench with some weird looking iron instruments — she didn't want to think about what they were for— a bunch of papers and a baseball bat on a desk against another wall, (if only she had time to look through them), and a locked cabinet on the wall- their hardware? She glanced up at the guy supposed to be watching her, whose eyes were on Danny, and she moved over to the sharp corner of the workbench that was out of his sight. It was a high bench, and she had to stretch her shoulders up behind her and lift her arms uncomfortably high to press her hands on the sharp edge. She let out a cry when it broke through the tape and sliced her hand.__  
_

Shit_...he must have heard that. She quickly ran over to the corner, grabbed the bat, and hid around the corner of the stairs.__  
_

_"Hey!" The guy called, as he started down the stairs. As soon as he walked past her, she swung with all the strength she could muster and hit him on the back of the head. He dropped like a rock.__  
_

Gotta act fast_...she ran up the stairs as quietly as she could, one hand holding her ripped shirt together. Still hearing Danny on the phone, she slipped behind him in the other direction and out the back door._

* * *

The room was silent.

"So, yeah. I came straight here after that, and that Devon guy came to patch me up."

"Jesus, Veronica." Her dad sat down on the couch next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She let her head drop to his shoulder, knowing it would make him feel better, but her glaze flickered over to Logan, who had remained ominously quiet while she related the previous nights events. He was looking down at the floor, hands clasped together in front of him.

_Why was he so calm?_ To be honest, it put her more on edge. _Where was the outburst? Where was the yelling- the calling her crazy and reckless? He was the only one who had actually seen her injuries yet...or at least the ones beneath her clothes.__  
_

"I can't believe that bastard cut you! Thank God you got out of there so fast," Keith told her.

"Yeah."

"How's your cut? Do we need to change the bandage? And your ribs?"

"I'm okay for now. I'm tough," she said, smiling up at him.

"I know you are honey," he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Logan nostrils flared, and he stood up abruptly and walked into the kitchen. Veronica's gaze followed him. He opened the fridge and stared inside. He didn't really want anything in there, but he had to get control of himself. She had no idea how hard he was trying to keep his cool. Livid. _He was_ _livid_. She's '_tough'_. She was going to get herself killed, _that's what_. He took a deep breath and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and banana from a basket on the counter. Was him yelling at her going to stop her from doing anything? No. It wasn't. It never had in the past. And he was 99.9% sure it never would. Last night, while he held her crying in his arms, he had decided since he was going to worry about her no matter what she did, he might as well join the party to keep an eye on her. From as close a distance as she would let him. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it was already proving to be nigh impossible, just a few short hours later.

He brought the water and banana back and set them on the coffee table in front of Veronica, and pushed the bottle of pills that was still there towards her, without even looking at her.

"I talked to Booth last night," Levi told them.

"You did? What did he have to say?"

"Well, now since the Fitzpatricks seem to be involved, we're almost sure we're looking at some heavy drug trafficking."

"That's what I thought too," Veronica told him.

"That's always been their thing," Keith said. "We've just never been able to pin anything on them."

"Well, hopefully we'll get to this time. But know that if we do, they'll just be a lucky by-product. Our first priority will be taking down the Sorokins. They're the big fish here. And it's looking like the Fitzpatricks might be our way in."

"Well, small fish or not, the Fitzpatricks don't mess around. They're not above killing each other for their own gain. Liam killed his own cousin and girlfriend last year," Keith informed him.

Veronica knew her dad was talking about Kendall. Her gaze flicked to Logan. He looked at her, and quickly away, but she was unable to read the emotion in his eyes.

"Well, there's something else we need to talk about, too," Liam said.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"We need to think about how they knew you knew anything about their little hobby in the first place. How the Sorokins knew. Why would they think you were causing problems- enough to want you out of the picture?"

"Goyra seemed to have it out for her. He's not the type to just let things go. Obviously." Logan added quietly, thinking about his own fun this summer.

"Right, but go to all this trouble? I don't think so."

Veronica had a thought. "Jake Kane."

"What?" Keith asked.

"Think about it. Goyra gave _him_ the hard drive with all the Castle's confessions on it- including his about his dad and uncle. I stole it from Jake, and he pressed charges against you. They must read the paper. Maybe they guessed I would have cracked into it and seen Goyra's confession."

Levi was nodding his head. "That's one of the theories anyway."

"What do you mean 'one of the theories'?" Logan asked.

"Well, after I got that call from Veronica yesterday, I went to the Stix for a drink."

"You what? After I had just gotten out of there are you crazy?" Veronica shouted at him.

"On the contrary, Veronica. Why on earth would they suspect me—when I show up alone, just after all this has gone down? Liam had shown up by then, and from what I could hear going on downstairs, he was really giving it to Danny. Sounded like for taking you in the first place. Now why would he be in trouble for taking you if they think you know their secrets? Doesn't make any sense." He paused here, looking at each of their faces.

Logan's brain was working overtime. He had an extremely unsettling thought. "Unless they didn't want her to know they knew she went to Virginia and was working with you guys."

"Exactly. That's the conclusion we came to, too," Levi said, nodding at Logan.

"Wait, what?" Veronica's head was still a little fuzzy.

"Who's we?" Keith asked.

"Booth. Head of our OCU team. We have to consider the possibility of—"

"What, a mole?" Veronica exclaimed. "What is this? A James Bond movie? You've got to be kidding me!" She sank down on the couch.

"I know. It's an extremely depressing thought. And with the team coming in next week…Our circle of trust will be very, very small." They all grew silent, until Veronica spoke up, somewhat hesitantly.  
"Yeah, about that circle of trust..." Veronica said.

"What now?" Levi turned to her, exasperated.

"What am I supposed to tell my friends?"

Levi looked at her. "Nothing?" He knew her well enough she'd fight him on that, and she didn't disappoint.

"I can't just tell them nothing. I look like I lost a fight with a….with a…." she looked down at herself, at a loss for words.

"Hippogriff?" Logan supplied.

She looked at him, a slight smile on her face. "Sure. And Wallace already knows something is up. He doesn't know any names or details, so don't get your panties in a twist," she hurried on when Levi's eyes widened and he shook his head at her. "But my friends are _not_ stupid. Hell, even Dick will notice something's up. They deserve to know something. At least if just to keep them on their toes."  
Levi stared at her.

"Just think about it. Please," she added.

"Who the hell is Dick?"

"Dick Casablancas. My roommate," Logan supplied.

"Casablancas... Why do I know that name?"

"You enjoy Gin joints in the dessert?"

"His dad's about to go to prison for fraud," Veronica supplied, ignoring Logan.

A look of recognition passed Levi's face. That was obviously it. He turned to Veronica. "Do you hang out with anyone who doesn't have a record?" She said nothing. _And he didn't even know Weevil yet...__  
_

"Well," he sighed, turning back to Logan, "I don't want you here for much longer. Too many variables. Hotel staff, other guests…. Pretty much anyone can come and go. I don't like the odds."

"I'm in the process of getting my own place." Logan agreed with him.

"Good. You have more money that God, right?" Logan looked at Veronica, who had the decency to look a little sheepish. _What else had she told Levi about him?__  
_"Use it. Gated community, gated house, security system, cameras, whatever. Get it."

"We'll probably end up on a private beach, so they'll be fewer access points anyway."

"Good." With that cleared up, Levi turned to Keith. "Keith, we'll need your input about what to do with local law enforcement. Sheriff Van Lowe, right?"

"Hah!" Veronica barked out a laugh, wincing a bit because of her ribs. "Yeah, he's quite the sheriff. I've even seen him at the Stix before…which, thinking about it, could be a problem now."

"I know, I've seen him there. I haven't made up my mind as to what he's playing at. With them or against them."

"I'd put my money on with them. Vinnie will do just about anything for money."

"I'm not so sure about that, Veronica," Keith lamented. "Vinnie may play the sleaze, but he's unpredictable. I don't think we can accuse him just yet."  
Veronica just sighed. Vinnie? Though he _did_ help her get Duncan and baby Lily out, she found it hard to believe he was infiltrating their gang for the greater good.

"Well if he isn't working with them, he's getting something out of it. Vinnie was never one to offer his services for free."

"And we don't know if he's just with the Fitzpatricks or all the way up the chain to the Sorokins," Levi added.

"So, to sum up," Logan said, clapping and rubbing his hands together, "we don't know a lot of things."

The three turned to him, identical annoyed looks on their faces.

"Well, there is one thing we know—they won't be coming after anyone just yet. They'll want to keep as under the radar as possible after this," Levi told them. "They don't know how much we know, or what we suspect, so let's use that to our advantage. Act like we know nothing. Don't be careless, but go along with your daily lives…do normal things."

"But this _is_ normal for me," Veronica jokingly said.

"What, getting sliced up?" Logan asked tersely.

"What? No—I meant…you know, fighting crime and…stuff," she finished lamely. She didn't like the look on his face. Like he was disappointed in her.

"Normal like go to the beach, go to school…whatever. That kind of normal."

"Right," Veronica said. Classes started next week. Hopefully she'd be a little more agile by then. How on earth she'd be able to concentrate, though, she had no idea.

"Okay, well I've been here too long already," Levi said. "If you need me, Veronica can contact me for emergencies. Be careful...and don't do anything stupid. I'll be in touch," was his parting remark before he left the suite.

"We should get you home, too," Keith said, looking at Veronica.

"Yeah, let me get my stuff." Veronica limped into Logan's room, and Logan's gaze went to the older man, looking to see if he was bothered by the fact she had slept in his room. He hadn't said anything last night, and Keith had slept on the couch for a few hours, so it was obvious that Logan hadn't been sleeping there.

"Logan, if you need anything…here. Take this. It has my cell on it, just in case." Keith handed him one of the Mars Investigations' business cards.

"Thanks." Logan took the card, but didn't look him in the eye.

"Logan." When Logan looked at Keith, he saw the understanding in his eyes—how frustrating this was for both of them. They both loved and wanted what was best for Veronica. There was no need to speak this aloud, however, as they had had that conversation before, while Logan was still in the hospital.

He hadn't really known why, but Keith had come to visit him a few times during his recovery, and Logan hadn't quite known how to react to the kindness he'd been shown. He'd never really known anyone that was as completely selfless and caring as Keith Mars. With all that had happened between him and Veronica, Keith had every right to completely ignore him and right him off as a lost cause. But he didn't. Keith had seen that he had no one. No real family to even care he was in the hospital. No responsible adult figure in his life. He had even brought him books to read, which was something that certainly never crossed Dick's mind. Logan had developed a new sense of respect for Mr. Mars, and he hoped the older man no longer thought of him as another screwed up trust fund kid. He found himself actually wanting the man's approval.

"What exactly is going on here?" Keith asked, looking between him and the closed bedroom door, obviously referring to him and Veronica.

Logan sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"I think she—" He stopped when Veronica came out holding her jeans with her bag over her good shoulder. Keith walked to her and took her bag, so she could stuff her jeans inside.

"I just threw away my shirt, and I'll get this stuff back to you," she said to Logan, referring to his borrowed clothes.

"Yeah, doesn't matter," he told her. "Oh, here, don't forget this stuff." He handed her the extra bandages and antibiotic spray Devon had left. "Twice a day, don't forget," he reminded her.

"I know," she smiled at him, and her and her dad walked to the door. He followed them, and she hesitated, not really sure how to say goodbye. There was so much she wanted to tell him, to thank him for, but she felt awkward with her dad standing two feet away. She was probably driving Logan crazy- _I am Veronica. Queen of mixed signals_. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for... last night." She turned to walk away, then stopped and looked back at him. "Don't do anything…. stupid, okay?" she said, reiterating Levi's plea. Logan just rolled his eyes at her, and gave her a small smile, before he closed the door.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked, as they made their way to the elevator. He was trying to read the troubled look on her face. Whether Veronica knew he was referring to Logan or not, she chose to answer in response to her injuries.

"I'll survive. My ankle's not even that bad. I'll just take it easy for a day or two." Keith let her lean on him a bit.

"So, what exactly are you going to tell Mrs. Fennell?"

"About all this?"

"Yeah- I mean, I would normally say we tell them nothing, but we have to give her and Wallace some explanation of why I look like this," she said. He could tell she was a little nervous involving her friends.

"We can tell them together, if it will make it easier on you."

"Won't she just freak out? Be worried all the time?"

"Veronica, Alicia's a lot stronger than you give her credit for."

"I know, I just...I don't want to put this on any more people than necessary. It could get dangerous." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright, more dangerous."

"Believe me, Veronica, if I could keep _you_ from this, I would. And especially Alicia. But I'd rather have her aware than be taken off guard if anything were to happen. And I trust her. Completely. "

Veronica sighed. "I guess."

"It'll be okay, honey. I promise. Have I told you how proud I am of you?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. Sure it would be okay. Because her life always went according to plan.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who's put me on alert! I greatly appreciate the support and reviews! They make me more eager to write- so the more I get, the faster you'll see another chapter! **HintHint** :)

ReviewReviewReview!


	5. Friends in Low Places

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this next chapter took so long! I had a crazy, and I mean _crazy,_ holiday weekend! Went to a birthday party, had my own birthday, went to a bbq, went to a wedding, ran a 10k race, and my bro had knee surgery…..it was non-stop! And now I'm getting sick. I've got a bunch of meetings and dinners coming up at work so the next one might take a while too- but it'll be worth the wait I promise! It's a good one!

A little more LoVe in this one….I had a comment a few chapters back about how calm Logan was being. It made me think…. Is he's being a little too calm? It's Logan, right? How can he not flip a b*tch, right? I gave him a little more edge this chapter I think….but let me know what you think.  
A little more MaDi development too….just cause I like it.

See ch. 1 for disclaimer...

* * *

For the next few days, Veronica actually managed to take it easy. Her dad helped tend to her injuries and change her bandages, but she was gaining a little more mobility in her shoulder and was now wearing a sling. She had kept mostly to the couch, and Wallace (and Darrell) had volunteered to be the designated Veronica-entertainers so she wasn't bored.

She hadn't talked to Mac yet, besides the quick "heads up" phone call Wallace had made to her, so Veronica decided it would be best to bring her over to explain the situation face to face. Hopefully it would go a little better than her initial talk Wallace had. Both his and Alicia's reaction to her injuries were about what she had expected. Wallace had been more than a little peeved that he was out of the loop, but Alicia had all but gone ballistic when he insisted on helping.

"Keith can let Veronica do whatever he wants, but YOU are not going close to this, do you understand me?" she had told Wallace.

Veronica knew Alicia was pretty protective of Wallace and Darrell, but she had never seen her so… scary. She'd been without her own mother for so long... Veronica had a feeling Alicia wouldn't ever be run out of town, leaving her kids behind.

"You know, for some reason I don't think I ever really _let_ Veronica do anything..." Keith said.

"Either way," she continued, after glaring at Keith, "you just got back, and God knows what could have happened to you out there, so I am keeping you safe here, do you _understand_ me, Wallace?"

He clearly didn't want to argue with her, but he gave Veronica a pointed look, which said '_you will bring me in on this later'_. It was for this reason Veronica made sure not to be alone with him for the rest of the day. It wasn't too difficult, as the Mars and Fennell families tended to congregate under one roof nowadays; there was always someone around. They weren't living together, as there weren't enough bedrooms at either place for everyone (and neither Veronica or Wallace wanted to address the awkwardness of their parents in the same bed yet), but it was something Keith had given some thought to. Unfortunately, thoughts of living together had to be put on hold for now, as he knew it was necessary that Alicia, Wallace, and Darrell have their own place if anything were to happen. This new situation made him wary of putting them in any unnecessary danger.

The following day, Veronica called Mac over while her Dad headed into the office.  
"So, I kinda brought back an FBI agent with me from Virginia," she said, when they were seated on the couch.

"What? An FBI Agent? Veronica, what about Logan?"

"What _about _Logan?" she was confused. "Oh, no—not like brought one back with me to _date._"

"Oh. Good. Yeah, that...didn't really make sense." Veronica laughed with her.

"So...brought one back to do what with? Fight crime?" she asked jokingly.

"Kind of."

Veronica gave her the same cliff noted version they'd told Wallace and Alicia. Mac seemed to take everything in stride, not interrupting until she was finished. The first question she asked made Veronica inwardly smile. Of course Mac would pick up on what was occupying her thoughts the most.

"So wait, you showed up at the Grand all bloody after having been beaten up by the Fitzpatricks, and Logan _didn't_ flip a shit?" Veronica gave her a small smile.

"No...which actually kind of worries me. He was... too calm. Eerily calm."

"Huh..." Mac shook her head. "You sure have a talent of attracting bad situations."

Veronica gave her a '_tell me about it_' look.

"Wait, so where was Dick when all this was going on? Not in the room, I take it?"

"No, thank God. Apparently he was at the Pi Sig house the whole weekend."

"Oh great, which means he got completely plastered. Wonderful."  
Veronica just looked at her. _Since when did she care what Dick did? Nothing going on my ass._ "So have you heard from him since you left? It's been what? Two days?" Veronica raised her eyebrows at her, looking at her pointedly letting her know she knew Mac was trying to avoid any questions about Dick. There was something going on there...no matter what she denied. If Veronica didn't have so much else on her mind, she wouldn't have let it go.

"Yeah. Just a text message though, asking how I was doing," she answered Mac.

"Huh. Well that's better than nothing, I guess. I mean, he's gotta see you're trying to include him, right?" she said, with hopeful inflection.

"Right." Mac studied her pensive face.

"Oh come on, Veronica. If you haven't scared him off yet…"

"But I have, remember? He broke up with _me_ the first time."

"I actually think that was like the third time you guys broke up. But like that one even counted. You were back together, what? Like a week later?" Mac nudged her back when Veronica punched her arm.

"Logan's a fighter, Veronica. You know that. He won't back down that easy. He loves you. I'm positive. I told you he wasn't with anyone all summer."

"I know," Veronica said very quietly. Mac was still adapting to this more-sharing Veronica. She was actually talking about her insecurities. She wouldn't have believed it if she wasn't seeing it first hand.

"You two have to stop freaking out at each other. But I think you might have to make the move this time. I think the only thing he's unsure of is how _you_ feel. Go for the gold, Veronica. Go for the gold," she emphasized with a fist pump.

Veronica smiled at her and shook her head. "How did you get to be all Ms. Relationship Expert?"

"What can I say, I learn from your mistakes," she joked.

Veronica raised her eyebrows. "You wanna start talking about Dick again?"

"Nope." Mac got up from the couch and looked back at her friend. She sure hoped Veronica knew what she was doing.

"Stay safe, Veronica, okay? Don't get in to too much more trouble, and let me know if you need anything," she added seriously.

"Sure thing, Q."

As soon as she closed the door to the Mars' apartment, Mac whipped out her phone to send a text message.

/Are you alive?/

Mac knew Veronica still had issues with Dick, which was why she avoided talking to her about him. She didn't really know all the details of what happened between them in the past, but she did know what Dick had been like in high school. Hell, even what he was like a year ago. So she could only imagine the damage he'd done. But comparing that to what he had been like this summer? She could see the gradual change that had been happening. He partied less (except for after his dates with his Dad- which she could forgive him for), and he had actually taken a class during the last summer session.  
Veronica had basically changed over night, and though she wasn't expecting anything that drastic from Dick, she could see him struggling. Veronica hadn't spent any time with him lately since she'd been away for most of the summer, and it wasn't something Veronica would search out to do. There was no 'Dick and Veronica's Day of Fun'. Mac could of course, get where she was coming from. If she were Veronica, she probably would have a hard time being best friends with him too, given everything.

But Mac _wasn't_ best friends with Dick. She wasn't sure _what_ they were. But they did have some type of connection, that she could admit. They had both gone through something Veronica would never understand.

But then again, maybe she could. Maybe not in the exact situation, but Veronica had experienced tragedy.

Mac had never really been friends with Lily Kane in high school, but everyone knew who she was. Dealing with Lily's murder had been one of the factor's that spurred Veronica's change. But Lily hadn't deceived them all- she hadn't been two people. That was the difference. They hadn't been betrayed by someone they loved. Lily had been the victim, not the... murderer? That word put a horrible taste in her mouth. She couldn't think of Cassidy like that. _He_hadn't committed those crimes. Not that shy, cute boy who smiled at her and held her hand. That had been Beaver, the younger brother who tried desperately to please his older brother and father to no avail.

Not that she blamed Dick, either. Not really. Dick didn't force him to kill all those kids on the bus, or Woody Goodman. No matter what had happened to him, she was a firm believer that violence was never the answer. And neither was suicide. Which made her even angrier with him. She liked to think she could have helped him—could have saved him. But does anyone ever come back from that? From what he did? He was a broken human being. Dick was constantly asking himself the same questions, and it's what haunted them both.

She hated thinking about all of this, and so did Dick. Throw his father into the mix, who did nothing _but_ talk about it, and Dick chose to drink until he couldn't think anymore. Mac dealt with it silently, and Dick got that. She thought he appreciated her for the same reason.

Just as Mac turned down her street, her phone dinged. When she read the single worded response- /no/- she sighed and turned her car around.

Mac was halfway down their hallway when Logan opened the door, on his way out.  
"Hey... I'm here for the invalid," she said to him.

"Hah. Good luck with that," he said, holding the door open for her. "He walked in about an hour ago and I haven't seen him since." He smiled at her as she rolled her eyes and walked past him. He heard her yell Dick's name as he closed the door and walked to the elevator.

Logan liked Mac. She didn't take any of his crap- or Dick's for that matter. And no matter how much Veronica would protest, Mac was good for Dick, and vice versa. Not that either of them would ever admit anything romantic was going on…

Mac threw open the door to Dick's room and turned on the light. She heard a groan from the bed, and she walked over to put down the glass of Alka-Seltzer on the nightstand. He was lying face down in the pillow, and his arms lay on top of the bedspread.

"Come on. Wallowing will not do you any good. You did this to yourself. We're going to go out into the sun. Into the light."

"I'm not wallowing. I'm hung over-ing. And I've been outside already. I'm good," he mumbled.

"Walking to and from your car? Doesn't count. Who drove you home?"

"I did."

"_You_ drove you home?" He mumbled something incoherently.

"What?"

"I'm not still drunk."

"After a full weekend? Are you sure about that?"

"Don't you have to go to work or something? Go away."

She ignored him. "Come on, drink it," she said, taking the glass and putting it in his hand. "Get up." Annoyed by his lack of response, she pulled back the covers, which was clearly a mistake. She yelped and whipped them back up when she saw his naked butt.

His incredibly firm, tan, naked butt. _Damn_ surfing does a body good.

"Jesus Dick- What? Did you lose all your cloths this weekend, too?"

"No- I just prefer to sleep uninhibited."

"God! A little warning would have been nice!"

"You're the one who burst in here all eager to see me in bed," He finally rolled over to look up at her. "Are you—? You're blushing Mac-n-Pac," he smirked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Out of bed. Not in it. And I am not." Which was a lie—and one she couldn't conceal since he could clearly see her face. His smirk widened and she scowled.

"I've seen naked butts before," she mumbled, looking away from him.

"Yeah, but I'm sure not as nicely toned as mine, right?" _Uh...no. But like she'd ever tell _him_ that.__  
_  
"I didn't notice."

"No? Maybe you need another look—" he started he pull back the bedspread when she yelped again and turned to hurry out of the room.

"Just put on some damn clothes and get out here!" she yelled back at him, slamming his bedroom door.

She scowled as she could hear him laughing inside. _Dumbass._

_

* * *

_

Veronica was glued to the TV. What was it about horrible made for TV movies you just can't look away from? She was so engrossed it took her a few seconds to register the knocking at the door.  
Pulling herself away, she got up to answer it.  
"Logan. Hi," she said, opening the door.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Healing," she said, walking back towards the couch, leaving the door open as an invitation to come inside. Logan followed her inside and looked at the TV.

"Are you watching Gigli?"

"I was flipping channels," she said, and quickly shut the TV off.

He smirked, clearly not believing her.

"Is your dad here?"

"No, he's at the office putting together all his info on the Fitzpatricks."

"You're alone?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. No one's after me, remember? Levi said I'm 'off limits'."

"Right, _Levi said_..."

Veronica scrunched her eyes at his annoyed face.

"What, you don't trust him?"

"I don't know... He just seems a little too..."

"A little too what?"

He just shrugged at her. _Too Perfect. Agent Levi comes from D.C. and she trusts him blindly.__  
_  
Wait... was he—_jealous_? Veronica had seen that look on his face many times before.

"Logan. He's like thirty something. He's like a brother. And he's highly respected back in Virginia. _I_ trust him. So if you trust _me_ at all..." Did he?

"They sent him here to help, and what happens to you as soon as you get back?"

"You can't blame him for that. That was just unfortunate."  
_  
Unfortunate?_ He let out a disbelieving laugh and turned his back to her, rubbing the back of his head. It was then that she noticed his hand.

"Logan, what did you do to your hand?" Veronica said very calmly. His knuckles were all red and cut. _Please God tell me he didn't do anything stupid...__  
_  
He looked down at his hand but didn't say anything to her.

"Logan what did you do?" she asked more urgently.

"Nothing."

"Logan! I swear to God, if you went— "

"Relax!" He interrupted her, before she freaked out even more. "I punched the wall."

"You punched a wall?" she repeated.

"Yes. It hit back harder than I was expecting," he said quietly.

She didn't know what to say to him. Why? What had happened? Did he have the blow-up she'd been expecting in private?

"Was it...because of..." _me?__  
_  
Logan laughed at her. "What do you think, Veronica?" She swallowed and stared at him, not knowing what to say.

He turned serious very sudden, and asked her in a barely contained voice, "Do you have any idea- _any idea_- of what could have happened to you?"

"I am extremely aware."

"Are you? Really? Aren't you sick of this? Of constantly putting yourself in danger and getting hurt?"

"Ah, here we go. There's the Logan I was missing. I knew you weren't as okay with this as you were letting on. You _are_ mad."

He let out a frustrated exhale and raised his head toward the ceiling. "I'm mad at the entirety that is our lives. This is just ridiculous Veronica! Why are you constantly involving yourself with shit like this?"

Veronica smiled ironically.

"I really don't see how any part of this situation is funny."

"Yes it is. I was supposed to come back and show you how I'm working on letting people—you—help me. So you're involved, and not on the sidelines. Then I get beat up by the Fitzpatricks as soon as I get back and here we are, having the same fight we always have. Someone thinks this is hilarious."

"I don't want to fight. I don't. We've exhausted this, I know. I just want some confirmation from you that you know how serious this situation is."

"Logan. I spent the entire summer on this. I _know_ what they're capable of." _I saw what they did to you._ He knew by the look on her face she was thinking of him.

"Trust me, they make the Fitzpatricks looks like a bunch of bitching, over-eager little girls," she continued.

"Well could you maybe act like it? Make me feel less like the girl in this— " he stopped, and his eyes flew to hers as Veronica's widened. He was about to say _in this relationship_.  
This was the perfect opening. Logan could start that conversation right now and change that fact.  
He stared at her, and she stared back. Neither said a word.

Finally Logan cleared his throat and said quietly, "You don't have to act so tough all the time." He sounded so deflated. Like she was exhausting him, and it made her sad. Was that what he thought? That she was so unaffected by everything that had happened?

"I cried myself to sleep in your bed. That was too tough for you?" When his gaze became a little too heated, she had to look away.

"Right, well..." He didn't really know what to say to that.

She _had_ fallen asleep in his arms, and even though she was injured and absolutely nothing had happened, it was the best night he'd had in a long time.

"I have three places to go see today, if you want to come. Dick's not in any shape to move, so…."

He pulled her from her thoughts and she was confused. They were done with this conversation? But they hadn't really resolved anything… "What? What places?"

"Houses? I came over to see if you wanted to go with me. Help me scope them out- check security or whatever."

"Oh, right. Um... sure." The whole day alone with Logan. Interesting…

Logan drove them closer towards the pricey beachfront property. She knew he wanted a beach house, but wasn't exactly sure where. When they drove through and right on out of the 09 zip code, she teased him.

"Wow- we're really branching out aren't we?"

"Yeah, well contrary to popular belief, you can get pricey beach front property out of 09."

"Who knew," she said with a smile.

They met the realtor at the first house. She was female, mid-thirties, and obviously used to catering to young kids with more money than they knew what to do with. The first two places she showed them were the most ostentatious houses Veronica had ever been in. And that was saying something. They were unnecessarily big. One had 7 rooms, and the other 5, each had pools, and one even had a swim-up bar in the backyard. The final house, that only had 4 rooms, was Veronica's favorite. The mater suite took up the entire top floor and had wall to wall, top to bottom windows with a view of the ocean. Because this apparently wasn't enough, it also had a pool house. Why on earth a house with walking private access to the beach would need a pool was beyond her, but she still liked it best. It needed some upgrades security wise, but it was gated, on top of the street itself being gated, and it had all the necessary technical equipment for security cameras, they just needed to be installed. Logan had liked the one with the 5 rooms, as it had a home theater in the basement fully equipped for an obsessive gamer. Veronica told him he could always "build" one in either of the other houses. The one she liked had an enormous basement, and if a wall was put up to create a theater, it would still be overly large.

"I take it Dick's moving with you?" Veronica asked when they walked out of the last house and towards the car.

"Yeah," he said. He knew she wasn't overly excited by that fact. Logan opened the passenger side door for her, and she murmured a soft 'thanks'.

"Are you gonna charge him rent?" she asked, when he had gotten in the other side. "You should."

"Why? It's not like I need the money."

"Well, it's not like he can't afford to pay, or heaven forbid get his own place. You're doing all the work."

"Veronica, it's Dick. I don't care."

"Well at least make him buy your booze or something."

Logan laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's something I'll never have to _ask_ Dick to buy."

"Or your stupid video games, whatever. He should be responsible for something!"

Logan looked at her curiously. "Why do you care so much about Dick?"

"I don't care about Dick. I'm just... worried."

"About Dick."

"No, about… Mac."

"Oh." Veronica raised her eyebrows.

"Oh? Oh as in you know _why_ I'm worried?" He knew Veronica wouldn't be so thrilled.

"I know they've been hanging out, anyway." He wasn't going to tell her Mac was over there with Dick now.

"Argh! I don't get it!" she exclaimed, throwing her head back against the seat.

"If it makes you feel any better, he's different with her."

"Why? Different how? The only long-term girlfriend I've ever seen him with is Madison, and we know how much I think of her. Doesn't say much about him. And her and Mac? Like the complete opposite!" Logan winced at the Madison comment.

"They're not technically dating, you know." _Yeah, and neither are we_, she thought. Like that actually meant anything.

"But maybe that's the point," he continued.

"What's the point? That he won't be tied down by a label? Not seeing the good or difference here."

"Dick's been…. different this summer. I don't know if it's because of his dad, or dealing with Beav—Cassidy, or if it's because of Mac, but he's different."

"I thought you said he was passed out this morning?"

"I didn't say he's turned into a golden boy. He's just…. a little less…."

"President of Psychotic Jackasses Anonymous?"

"Hey..." she looked at him, she thought he was actually getting mad, but then he said, "I thought that office was mine."

"Only on even days," she said to him, joking as if he should clearly already know that. "You can switch off."

They continued on into a pleasant and comfortable silence. This was going good so far. Nothing too awkward, and they were actually talking about serious things. Veronica really couldn't believe he was going to buy a house. She couldn't even imagine having enough money to do that right now.

"So are you sure you want to spend all this money on a house?" she asked him.

"It's not that much." She rolled her eyes. _Of course_ he would say that.

"It's necessary, right?"

"A place to live? Sure. But I mean you could always get something smaller. I mean, who knows how long you'll be staying here anyways."

He looked over at her. What was she thinking? Where would he go? She was here, so he was here. He turned back to the road, not trusting himself to look at her and keep the raw emotion and longing from his face. He knew it would scare her, so he kept his reply light.

"Even if I do end up somewhere else, it'll be nice to have a place here to come back to. Surf's good on the beach."

Veronica just shrugged her shoulders, and he quickly changed the subject.

"Hey you want some ice cream?"

Her eyes widened in delight.

"Do one legged ducks swim in a circle? Do polar bears shit in the woods? Do penguins crap in the ocean? Does the tin man cry at Bambi?"

They stopped at a red light. He looked over at her, clearly amused. "The tin man?"

"Yeah, I made those last few up. Good, no?"

"Well I don't know if—"

"Wait- turn here," she said, suddenly urgent.

Logan turned to where she was looking out her window down the cross street. He turned back to the front, stone-faced. "No."

"Logan—"

"Veronica. NO." If he turned he would pass right in front of the Stix.

"Logan come on- that's Vinnie's car! I don't want to go in— wait that's him!" She could see Vinnie exiting the bar and crossing the street to his car. "Damnit Logan! Turn!"

Cursing, he gunned it and cut across a lane of traffic to make the turn before the light turned green.

"I thought we were supposed to be keeping our heads down."

"Yeah, well, Vinnie's up to something."

"I'm not stopping," he told her.

"I know, just... slow down."

Logan eased his foot off the gas, and as they passed by, Vinnie looked up from where he was unlocking his car. He frowned when he saw Logan, but then locked eyes with Veronica. He gave her a smirk and winked, before Logan stepped on the gas again and drove down the street.

"Ahrg!" Veronica yelled, throwing her head back against the passenger seat. "He's such a pathetic excuse for a human being! How do I wake up in the morning!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's my fault my dad didn't get elected instead of him! I stole the hard drive from Jake and my dad destroyed the video footage that caught me on tape, thus putting himself under investigation. He did that for me and now…" She shook her head in disgust.

"Yeah, go ahead. Punish yourself cause you have a dad that loves you."

She scoffed at him. "Don't be an ass."

"Do you still want ice cream or not?" He snapped at her.

"No," she said back, just as curtly. "Just take me home."

"Fine."

They'd had a good afternoon, but now she ruined it with this stupid little tiff. The remainder of the ride home had been made in stony silence.

"I'll see you later then." Veronica said, when they reached her complex. She opened the door and got out before she had to decide how to say goodbye. When she got around the car, Logan had gotten out as well.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking you to the door. Knowing you, someone could come drive up and snatch you before you get inside."

"Ok. Really. Being careful is one thing, but now you're just being ridiculous."

"Humor me?"

Veronica just rolled her eyes. He didn't seem to upset anymore.

When they had reached the door, instead of going inside, she turned around to face him. She drew in a breath when he was a little closer than she expected. "Sorry," he said, and stepped back.  
Was this all it was gonna be now? All awkward moments? Normally she'd kiss him goodbye. She would love to right now, stupid little fight or not.

Of course she didn't know Logan was thinking the exact same thing. He was going crazy. Did they even know how to argue anymore? That was supposed to be normal for them. Something like this shouldn't faze them. They should be able to shake it off. The afternoon had been promising. She hadn't even corrected the realtor when she had mistakenly called her his girlfriend. What was that? God, all he'd wanted to do all day was burry his hands in her hair and kiss her. Still wanted to, no matter how frustrated she made him.

He didn't say anything else, so as not to withstand another awkward silence, she asked, "Are you gonna put in an offer on that last one?"

"I'm not sure yet. Probably. I was gonna meet with my accountant tomorrow."

"You have an accountant?"

"Yeah," he chuckled at her.

"One that you trust?"

"Yeah. He's been with the family for years. We paid him good money. He always thought Aaron was a douche, so I liked him."

Veronica laughed. "So at least he's a good judge of character, then."

"Exactly," he smiled back.

More silence.

Veronica was extremely grateful when Alicia opened the door.

"Oh, Veronica! I thought I heard voices. Hello, Logan," she greeted them pleasantly.

"Mrs. Fennell." When she held the door open and didn't return back inside, Logan said his goodbyes with a lingering look at Veronica, and strolled back to his car, hands in his pockets.

"You're dad should be back soon, he's still at the office," Alicia said as she shut the door behind Veronica. There was laundry on the coffee table and couch she had obviously been folding.

"Mmm." Veronica wasn't really listening. She was still thinking of Logan's chilly attitude towards her. He had obviously been upset with her. Was she really changing at all? She had thought so….

"Veronica, are you okay?" Alicia asked.

"What? Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." That was Veronica's automatic response. _Wait, change_.

But talk about it? Her feelings? _With Alicia_? She _did_ have some crazy relationship experience…. What the hell?

"It's just…."

"Logan?"

She looked up surprised, and Alicia smiled. She apparently knew her a little better than she thought.

"Yeah. I just kinda dragged him into my crazy messed up life again, and I just hope he doesn't resent the fact that I…."

"The fact that you what?"

"Well, I kinda showed up unannounced after we hadn't spoken for the whole summer. I'm surprised he didn't shut the door in my face the other night."

"Well thank goodness he was there to help you. And Veronica, know you can always call me or Wallace if you ever need anything, okay? No matter what."

She smiled at her. "Thanks. I just didn't want to cause any problems. But apparently I didn't care about that for Logan…" she laughed at herself.

"Well from Wallace has told me, I doubt he cared either. He obviously cares for you very much. And you for him, it seems."

"Wallace told you that?"

"I'm sure he left out the more colorful parts of your relationship, but yes."

"We're extremely complicated."

"I've never known a meaningful relationship not to be. Not the ones that are worth it, anyway."

"No, I mean, like, ridiculously complicated. Like no 40-year old should have a relationship like this. We have so many issues. Sometimes I'm amazed by the things that've happened to me, to us."

"You know it's usually all those things that make us who we are- make us stronger to feel something for another person. With as miserable as my first marriage was, I wouldn't be the same person I am today if I hadn't gone through that—I wouldn't be able to love or appreciate your father as much for who he is."

"That's what I thought too. When I got back together with my old boyfriend Duncan, I thought I could appreciate who we'd been and what had changed us…. but that kind of backfired. And that doomed relationship was sandwiched between Logan… And they were best friends. I still think Logan's insecure about everything that happened…. We've broken up, what? Three? Four times? It's hard to keep track now."

Alicia smiled at her, encouraging her to go on.

"And now, anytime we come close to having any sort of serious conversation we both freeze up. Like we're scared to start anything that could end again."

"I love him, though," Veronica added as an after thought. When she saw Alicia start to say something, she hurried on and said, "I know, I know, sometimes love just ain't enough, and all that…" She did know what she had with Logan she could never have with anyone else (and yes, she saw the irony that that piece of knowledge of knowing the difference had come from Piz…) But being around him now was putting all these second—and third and fourth—thoughts in her head. They had so many other issues.

Alicia studied her. "Maybe not to make an entire relationship work. Not on it's own. But it can be enough to make you stay. To make it work. To make it worth the effort." Veronica said nothing. _Was it that simple?_

"Veronica, I know I'm not your mother, but you can come to me anytime." Alicia rested her hand on top of hers on the counter, and then went back to the couch to finish folding the laundry.

Veronica watched her for a few seconds, before going to her room and shutting the door.

_Huh_, she thought. She'd just had a helpful conversation with a smart, grown woman.

_Weird._

_

* * *

_

Thanks for all the reviews and keep 'em coming! If everyone who read each chapter dropped me a "hey sweet story," or a "what are you thinking," I would have tons more! Thanks for all the traffic but I'd love to know what you all think!

Like i said...prepare yourself for the next one! Big developments, and the conversation I'm sure you're all waiting for...! Just gotta get the other filler stuff in there to develop the rest of the events a bit more... :) I'll do my best not to keep you waiting _too_ long.

*ReviewReviewReview*

(for some reason, on my live preview the entire second half of the chapter is showing up italicized... not sure if it will be like that live, but i can't fix it, so just pretend its not :) There are no flashbacks, just a weird glitch i can't seem to fix. And if it looks ok, ignore this little side note!)


	6. Nobody Knows it But Me

I know, I know…. it seems like forever since I've updated. Ch 6 and 7 were originally going to be one chapter, but it was getting to be longer than I anticipated, so I decided to split it into two and give you one now! They might be a little shorter than usual, but hopefully the content will make up for that! What's funny is that I wrote ch7 before I wrote anything else in this story! It was originally gonna be a stand alone, but the plot bunny hit smacked me in the face, so you get all this... :) Ch 7 will be up soon! (I mean it!) Hopefully early next week…. Keep your fingers crossed.

Disclaimer: See ch.1... I don't own um...

* * *

Chapter 6  
Nobody knows it but me

It was a few days later that Veronica got a call from Levi. Booth and the team were finally in town.

It was 7 in the morning, and while she wasn't too happy about being woken so early in her last few precious days of summer, the wait was killing her. Sitting around doing nothing was not her style.

Levi's directions had them driving down the highway towards the beach to a cluster of condos close to the boardwalk.

"Nice digs," Veronica said as they walked through the front door. The remark was only slightly sarcastic. It wasn't too roomy, but the view out the window was fantastic.

The condo was on the second and top level, and from the outside looked just like a normal place, complete with a balcony with lawn chairs, a surfboard and a BBQ grill.

"Veronica, there you are. And you must be Keith. Glad you could make it." Booth stood up from where he had been leaning over another agent at a computer desk, and shook Keith's hand.

"Oh our pleasure. But did it have to be so early? I do need my beauty sleep, you know."

"So sorry to disturb you. I figured the less people around the better."

"It's 7 in the morning. Near the beach. In the summer. Did you _see_ the boardwalk? There's _always_ people around, " she told him.

"No one I'm worried about seeing."

"I can see that," she said, taking a step back and taking in his attire. It didn't look like he was worried about seeing anyone.

She whistled. "Lookin' good, Director." He wore khaki shorts and brown sandals with an open short-sleeved shirt and white tank underneath.

Keith stared at his daughter. Apparently she had a good relationship with the Director if she was comfortable talking to him like that. He shook his head. She was always surprising him.

"Can it, Mars. Can't very well walk around in 90 degree heat looking like a suit, can I?"

"No, I suppose not," she said, still smiling. "So what took you so long to get here, anyway?" she continued. "It's been like a week."

"We had to set some things in motion before we got here."

"What things?" Keith asked. Booth remained silent.

Veronica rolled her eyes at his lack of information. That was how Booth worked. If he didn't think you needed to know something, he'd remain annoyingly quiet.  
Veronica looked around. "Wait, where's Logan? Shouldn't he be here?"

"The Echolls kid? He should be here..."

"I called him, left a message." Levi spoke up, walking in the door, carrying a bag from Good Times.

"Oh we're going for a nutritional breakfast. Hungry for a burger, are we?" she asked as Levi handed the bag to Booth.

"I like the custard." Booth shrugged.

Veronica pulled out her phone and sent a text message. /where are you?/

She hadn't heard from Logan in a few days. Not really. He'd texted her to say he'd put in an offer on that third house, but that was it. Of course, she could have initiated the conversation, but... it's not like she wasn't busy. School was starting up again on Monday, and it was Thursday. She'd gone to the bookstore with Wallace to get all their textbooks, and had helped Mac move into her new dorm room. Well, help was a bit of a stretch. More like watched Mac and Wallace carry boxes. There wasn't much she could do with one arm in a sling. Mac was moving into a single, as not surprisingly, Parker had opted to move into a house off campus with other friends.

Veronica's phone vibrated. /was on the water. On my way/

"He was surfing, but he's on his way," Veronica let them all know.

"Okay. Have a seat. We'll start when he gets here." He gestured to the couch in the room.

"Not that I'm complaining about the homey atmosphere..." Veronica said, "but why here?"

Veronica and Keith sat on the couch.

"Second story makes it harder to break in, and we wanted to stay away from the hotels. Plus, it's a semi-less expensive time-share. Everyone with money—like the Sorokins—will be on the other side of the boardwalk," Booth explained.

"And none of the Fitzpatricks would be caught dead anywhere down here," Levi added. "They'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"Director. Levi." The guy sitting at the desk called them over.

A knock at the door sounded. Veronica looked at Levi, and he nodded his head at her towards the door, motioning her to go answer it.

She opened it a crack, then wide when she saw Logan on the other side.

"Hey," she said, a bit uneasily. She wasn't quite sure how he'd be towards her. They hadn't actually spoken since the house hunting trip, and that hadn't ended all that well.

"Hey. Sorry it took so long. I was in the water when Levi called me," he explained again. Both Booth and Levi looked over and saw it was Logan, then turned back to the computer.

"Who's Gilligan?" He asked, walking in the door, obviously referring to Booth.

Veronica chuckled and mentally sighed in relief. _I guess everything's okay, then._ "That would be the OCU Director. Booth. I don't know who the other guy is yet." They walked to the couch, but Booth stopped Logan before he could sit down.

"Logan Echolls. Agent Seeley Booth. Nice to finally meet you. I heard you had quite the summer." He held out his hand and Logan shook it.

"It's been pretty quiet since June, actually."

"Then this trouble maker comes back, and everything goes to hell again, huh?"

Veronica made a face at him. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me."

Logan smiled slightly and shrugged. "I'm used to it," he said, sitting down on the couch next to Veronica.

She was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of him. He apparently only had time for a quick rinse off at the beach, because he still smelled slightly like the ocean. In a very good way. She inhaled deeper and caught a scent that was undeniably Logan. He smelled like the beach. And soap. A little bit…. Yummy. Whatever that smell was, it always made her want to lean into his side and be wrapped up in him. She knew he kept a gym bag of extra clothes in the back of his car, so he must have tried to freshen up before coming in. Veronica would never complain about his hygiene, though. It was one of the things she missed most about him, actually. He always smelled amazing. Warm, and relaxing, and inviting.

Veronica closed her eyes and breathed him in. Couldn't they just take a nap right here? They'd both fit on the couch. If she lay on top of him, anyway. She smiled at her thoughts, bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. If she had a little less restraint, she would have jumped him, not caring her father and some FBI agents were in the room. _Damn, my restraint_.

She was pulled out of her daydream when Logan nudged her leg with his knee. She opened her eyes wide and turned her head to look at him. His eyebrows were lowered in confusion, until he saw the look in her eyes, and his widened in surprise. Before he could say anything, or anyone else could notice their silent exchange, she swallowed and cleared her throat.

"So," she asked Booth, "where's the rest of the team?" She could still feel Logan's gaze on her face, and she felt herself flush pink. She knew Logan noticed, but hoped no one else did.

"As far as you're concerned, this is the team. This is Agent Riley Poole. He's our computer tech guy." Riley gave a short wave from the desk behind them. Veronica smiled back at him. He was kind of cute in that a "tech guy I can do things with a computer you've never seen" sort of way.

"We've got four more agents in Neptune at different undisclosed locations around town. You're not to have any contact with them until I say so. They won't know you're involved. The only people who know we're investigating the possibility of a mole are in this room. This is our HQ."

"Um..." V raised her hand. "Isn't it a little late for that? I met them all in Virginia. They already know I'm involved."

"The only one you met that's here is Thomas. And we haven't ruled him out yet, so there's to be no contact until we do. The rest are field agents we've brought in."

Veronica's eyebrows lowered in thought. Thomas? She didn't know too much about him. He was always pretty quiet…

"The rest of the team in Virginia thinks we've stopped working with you because you're too much of a liability."

Veronica scowled at that.

Keith sighed. "Alright, so where do we go from here?"

"Levi?" Booth said, giving him the floor.

"Well, from what I've picked up, it looks like we're dealing with a pretty extensive drug ring. Coke? Heroin? Both? I haven't been able to determine which."

"And the Sorokins are using the Fitzpatricks to move them?" Veronica asked.

"Yes. But I'm not sure where exactly they come from or where they're going yet. They've apparently got a pretty good way of transporting them though cause I haven't seen anything obvious come through the Styx."

"I don't think much stays here," Keith said. "I feel like we'd know if there were heavy narcotics stashed somewhere. Or at least I hope we would…" he trailed off.

_Weevil would know_…. she thought.

"Well they're not too secretive about their dealings, so hopefully I'll be able to find out soon. The whole lot of them hangs out in that bar, playing pool, drinking beer, talking and fighting. They seem to think they're invincible."

"Well don't get involved in anything _too_ crazy. Don't wanna mess up that pretty face of yours." Veronica teased him. "Stay away from Danny. He's got a mean back-hand," Veronica added, frowning, reaching her hand up to her cheek. The bruise was fading nicely, but that didn't make her forget. The two agents seemed to miss the angry look that passed between Keith and Logan. Neither was happy to be reminded of what happened to Veronica.

"We've given Levi a new identity." Riley got up and handed some papers to Booth, who then passed them to Keith.

"We're not sure how deep he'll have to go, but the Fitzpatricks have got to be our way in."

"Okay wait a minute," Keith said. "If there is a mole, won't they know him and call him out?"

"We're hoping whoever they are won't be dealing with the Fitzpatricks," Levi said.

"You're _hoping_? Are you crazy?" Veronica asked.

"No. No one from Virginia knows he's going under, and he's had no contact with anyone here either. This is the best way. I can feed some false information and we'll see who bites. Levi can tell us what info is coming down the trail. If the Fitzpatricks are being controlled by Lev and the Sorokins, there has to be something we can pin on the Sorokins."

"And what?" Said Logan, "You just let Liam and Danny run a muck around town until that happens? When we know what they're capable of?" They couldn't be serious. They could have killed Veronica and they weren't taking action?

"Logan—" Veronica started to reassure him and put her hand on his knee, but she was interrupted by Booth. "We will do everything in our power to make it happen, but taking down the Fitzpatricks in the process will be an added bonus. Our main target is the Sorokins...got it?"

Logan said nothing.

"Understood." Keith said.

"Good," Booth said, eyeing Logan.

Keith passed the papers to Veronica, who after seeing the top page, looked up at Levi and smirked. "Joseph O'Brien? Really? Don't you think that's trying a bit too hard? Not gonna lie, but you don't really look all that Irish. Booth, sure…. But you? Not so much."

"Thanks..." Levi looked at her. "It'll be fine."

"Well just don't walk in there and suddenly have an accent, eh laddie?" Veronica said in a somewhat lacking Irish brogue. "Even they're not _that_ stupid."

"Director, here are those photos you wanted to show him," Riley spoke up from behind them.

"Ah, Keith, come take a look at these."

Veronica looked over at the computer and saw photos of Vinnie in the street by the Styx. It looked like the same day she and Logan had driven by. She turned and looked at Logan, and they both had equal looks of worry on their faces. _Oh man_, she hoped they weren't on tape. No one in the room would be too happy with them if they knew they had been by the Styx. Logan sent her an annoying little "_I told you so_" look that Veronica wasn't too pleased with. She turned back to study the computer screen. The security camera seemed to be angled high enough that they wouldn't be able to see any passengers in any of the cars, so unless they decided to run the license plates of every vehicle that drove down the street, they'd be okay. She turned around and sat back down on the couch.

Logan, apparently, was lost in worries of his own.

"Logan, are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"I hate that they might just get away with it. Doesn't that bother you at all?" He asked, referring to the Fitzpatricks.

"I highly doubt that will happen. Think about it. The best way to get the Sorokins and make it stick is to catch them in the act. And if the Fitzpatricks are their runners…. There's no way they won't be caught in the crossfire. "

"God there has to be something else we can do now." Frustrated, he dropped his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair.

Veronica reached up and took his hand to stop him from pulling his hair out. He did that when he felt things were out of his control. "Logan, they know what they're doing. Trust me, okay? They're good. This is the only way—the best and safest way—to go about it."

"I just wish they weren't so damn unsure about everything," he said, nodding his head back behind the couch where the four men hovered over the computer.

"I know," she lamented. Veronica subconsciously linked their fingers to try and give him some sort of comfort. "Contrary to popular belief, they don't know everything. Sure they have tons of gizmos and gadgets but most of it's leg work. Dangerous legwork."

"And at least it'll be him in danger and not you this time." Logan said, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

"Well, we're all probably still in danger, but ya… mostly him," her eyes danced, and he smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

They seemed to realize what they were doing at the same time, and both froze and they locked eyes. Neither let go.

"Okay, here we go. You each need to look at these." Booths voice cut through and snapped them out of their staring contest. Veronica stood up quickly and turned to take the mug shots Booth was handing them, and passed one to Logan.

"Logan, I think you already know one of these guys."

"Yeah, that one," he said, gesturing to the man in the photo Veronica held.

"These are the two men we believe are here in Neptune to keep track of Liam and his crew. Petrov and Vladik. We haven't caught them on camera anywhere for a few weeks though. Keep an eye out for them. Don't go looking for them," he added quickly, "but let us know immediately if you see either of these men."

"There was another guy with Vladik. Big guy. Did most of the... damage."

Booth and Levi exchanged a worried look. "Okay, we'll make sure we're monitoring the area near the Styx. I'm serious. Don't mess with these guys."

"Are you kidding? I'm a tiny little person. I don't think I'd be able to tase them enough before they crushed me with their pinky." Veronica didn't like the look of these men. They were extremely large, with gross, greasy hair. Veronica looked at the photo Logan was holding. She made a face. "Gross. I hate mustaches." Logan chuckled at her.

"All right Veronica, we should go," Keith said. "It's almost 9. I can open the office and gather some more files that can help."

"Okay."

"Before you go," Booth stopped them, "take these." He handed Keith and Logan phones like the one Veronica already had. "They've got mine and Poole's numbers programmed in them. From this point on, you're to initiate no contact with Levi at all. None. He no longer exists."

"Right, well, good luck then, _Joseph_," Veronica said. She was smiling, but serious, as she knew the danger he was putting himself in.

"What are _we_ supposed to do then?" Logan asked.

"Well, we were hoping you'd be able to keep an eye on Goyra when your classes start again on Monday. A subtle eye," he felt the need to clarify, given the track record of the two in front of him.

"What exactly is your definition of subtle?" Veronica asked him.

"Just don't do anything stupid, Veronica, okay? Don't actively seek out any type of confrontation with him. Don't do anything that would make him suspect you're doing something."

"And that leaves me with what? My evil eye?" Veronica asked, frustrated with her lack of options.

"Your _private_ eye. Be private about it," Levi said to her. Veronica just stared at him, clearly not amused.

"Alright children…" Booth said. "I think that's all I need from you, if we're all on the same page?" Veronica, Keith and Logan all nodded in the affirmative. "Now go do things normal people your age do."

"I'm sorry, are you saying I'm not normal?" Veronica feigned offense, as she walked to the door, with Logan and Keith on her heels.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Cute," she retorted, opening the door behind her back and turning to go outside. "See you guys later. Don't get dead," she added, looking at Levi before turning out the door. Logan grabbed the door before it swung shut, and gave them a slight nod before following her out.

"Oh Keith, hold on a second. These were the mug shots I was talking about..." Veronica turned back at the sound of Riley's voice calling her father back, but wasn't prepared for Logan directly behind her. She righted herself before she smacked into his chest, and chuckled. "You just keep sneaking up on me."

"Yeah, sorry," he smiled down at her squinting eyes. The sun was rising higher in the sky. He didn't sound sorry.

"So," she said, taking a few steps backwards. "Have you heard from that realtor yet? When do you know—" she gasped.

"Veron—!" Logan had to reach out for her quickly as she was tripping over an uneven board berneath her feet. She would have fallen down the stairs if Logan hadn't grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her roughly back to him. This time she slammed into his chest with an oof. Her good arm wrapped around his waist and her sling was trapped between them.

Veronica let her breathing return to normal, but it took a little longer than normal. She let herself be overwhelmed by the feeling of his strong arms holding her. She whimpered.

"Oh shit, I forgot about your arm. Are you okay? Did I hurt—?" he started to pull back from her, but she stopped him and pulled him back.

"No! I'm...fine." She said the last word while she looked up at him. The look in his eyes changed from concern to heat.  
_  
Oh, Jesus...here it comes. He's gonna kiss me._ Veronica didn't care that they still hadn't had the talk she promised herself they'd have before jumping into anything again. She loved the feel of his arms around her. The way she knew if she turned sideways she'd fit perfectly into his shoulder and he'd pull her even closer. She began to stand on her tip-toes to meet him halfway, when the door behind him opened again.

"Hey Log—! Oh, good. You're still here." Veronica dropped back down on her heels. Never in her life had she wanted to hurt someone as much as she wanted to clobber Levi in the face right now. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, then opened them and peered around Logan's shoulder to give _him_ her evil eye.

"Booth wants to get a first hand account of your incident this summer. We've got some other mug shots we want you to look at, too." He gave Veronica a little smirk. _Ass.__  
_  
Veronica stepped back from him when her dad passed by Levi and came out the door.

"Yeah, alright." Logan sighed.

"You ready?" Keith as Veronica, looking between the two kids.

"Um, yeah."

"Hey." Logan stopped her. "I'll uh...talk to you later."

She stared at him. It wasn't really a question. Talk to you later meant we're gonna have a talk later. _The_ talk.

"Yeah," she told him, and then turned away from his piercing gaze. _Awkward goodbye number 37 since I've been home.__  
_  
"You ready?" Keith asked her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Jake Kane stood in the middle of his empty hallway, staring up at the image of his son. His son that was still alive, but halfway around the world. His son that he hadn't spoken to in more than a year now.

He hung his head in shame.

"What would you do?" A voice behind him spoke. Jake turned as Clarence Weidman walked up beside him, looking up at the painting of Duncan.

"To get him back. What would you do?"

Looking back up at Duncan, Jake replied, "Anything. Everything."

When Clarence didn't speak, Jake turned to him, and saw he was staring at him, pointedly.

"What do you know? What can you do?" He asked urgently.

Clarence studied him. "You won't like it."

"I don't care. Get me my son back. My granddaughter. What do you know?"

"The question you should be asking... is what do _you_ know?"

* * *

Dun dun dun...  
Let me know what you think! I'm in the final tweaks of ch 7 so it'll be up soon!  
-ReviewReviewReview! They feed my imagination! Tell me what you think should happen! If they're good, I just might use one of your ideas... :)

-heratulipsia


	7. More Than a Feeling

A/N: Ha! The week isn't over yet! Here it is... I know I said earlier this week, but things happen... I had a very long night Tuesday night (can you guess why? :), and therefore went to bed at 630 Wednesday after work and didn't wake up til thurs morning! But here it is….the long awaited "Talk," with a capital T.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7  
More than a Feeling

"...so by then she was in her diaper on the floor screaming," Keith was so hysterical he could barely finish his story. "...covered in spaghetti sauce." Everyone except Veronica was laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, I was a riot." Veronica was ferociously chopping carrots at the counter.

Veronica, Wallace, and both their parents were putting together food in the kitchen. Taking the whole being "normal" thing to heart, the Mars and Fennell families were enjoying their last weekend of summer by BBQ-ing. Veronica was healing nicely, and she'd even taken off the sling to give her a little bit more mobility.

"I should have taken pictures!" Keith went on.

"I bet you were just too cute!" Wallace said in a high-pitched voice and reached over and tried to pinch Veronica's cheek.

"Just go on and try it, Fennell," Veronica said in mock seriousness, holding her cutting knife up. She and Alicia were chopping veggies for a salad.

"Alright Veronica, no need to draw blood." Keith said to her. Veronica raised her eyebrows at Wallace, who just shook his head at her. "So violent."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Darrell get the door, please!" Alicia called to Darrell who was sitting on the couch watching TV. Walking slowly to keep the TV in his line of sight as long as possible, Darrell rushed to open the door. Taking one look at who it was, he yelled, "Veronica! It's for you!" and ran back to resume his position on the couch.

Veronica looked up. "Logan."

"Hey." He was obviously a little nervous as he stepped inside. Everyone, sans Darrell, was staring at him. "Uh...Can we talk?" Oh, jeez... It was that look again.

"About?" Veronica raised her eyebrows, feigning ignorance.

"Veronica." She _did_ know what he wanted to talk about, and knew that neither of them would want an audience.

Veronica sighed, briefly shut her eyes. So much for a stress-free day. She turned towards her dad.

"Hey Dad…"

Keith Mars studied his daughters' face, but before he could say anything, Alicia took matters into her own hands.

"Alright everybody, why don't we take Back-Up for a little walk while the steak marinates."

Mrs. Fennell helped Darrell grab the leash, and Logan stepped aside as they led Back-Up out the door.

Wallace walked slowly up to Veronica. "You okay?" Wallace had most definitely been a little overprotective since her return. It wasn't quite un-founded, but she didn't think Logan should be on his list of "people Veronica shouldn't come in contact with." She was sure he had one. Logan wasn't a danger to her. Not physically anyway. But she loved Wallace for his concern.

Veronica gave him a little reassuring smile and small nod, and he followed his mother and brother out the door, but not before throwing a warning look at Logan. Logan proceeded to ignore it completely.

Keith walked up and placed a small kiss on Veronica's forehead.

"We'll be back in a half hour or so." He gave Logan a stiff nod. "Logan," to which he returned with a quite murmured, "Mr. Mars."

Veronica furrowed her eyebrows as her Dad closed the door behind them.

"That was pretty civil," she said, turning back to Logan. "Since when do you and my dad do anything but glare at each other?"

Logan shrugged, and moved closer to the couch. "He came to see me a few times this summer."

"In the hospital? He never told me that." Logan just shrugged. Veronica felt an overwhelming love for her father, and she smiled. There really was no better dad in the whole world.

"Wallace!"

Veronica and Logan both whipped their heads towards the front window at the sound of Alicia's voice. Wallace had obviously stayed behind to try and listen.

Veronica rolled her eyes, and Logan scowled. "_Really_? What does he thinks gonna happen?"

"He's just concerned..." Despite her slight annoyance at Wallace as well, she couldn't really be mad at him. She and Logan didn't have the best track record when they "talked." To think blood could be drawn wasn't _too_ unimaginable.

"Well as much as I'm flattered he cares so much about my well-being," he said sarcastically, "I'd rather do this without him listening at the door."

Veronica looked at him, then turned and walked to her room. When he didn't follow her, she came back out. He was still sitting on the couch. She raised her eyebrows. "If I have to yell to you out here, he's definitely gonna hear. You wanted privacy... You gonna follow me?"

Logan got up and followed her into her room, and closed the door then leaned back against it.

"So?" Logan looked at her expectantly.

"So...?"

"Come on Veronica. Are we going to do this or what?"

"You came over here. _You_ start."

"Okay, how 'bout this. I'm sick of dancing around each other. Are we together or not?"

Veronica's eyed widened, clearly not expecting him to be so direct. It took her a second to process.

"Wow. Okay. Let's not beat around the bush or anything."

Logan waited.

When that was all she said, his face softened, and he tried a different approach.

"Veronica. You're it for me." She remained frozen.

In the back of her mind, she kind of already knew that, but it didn't make it any less scary to hear it out loud.

"There's really nothing I can do about it," he went on. "Dating other people really hasn't really worked out, so I'm gonna wait for you to be ready. As long as it takes." Veronica didn't know what to say to that. She didn't think she could say anything and keep the tears that were building up from spilling over.

"You don't have to say anything. I just thought you should know." He paused again, and watched Veronica as she remained, glassy eyed, on her bed.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at him, still casually leaning against her door, like he hadn't just put his heart on the line- not knowing if she was going to stomp on it or not.

"How can you know that? We're so young. How can you be so sure that I'm— "

"Because I just do." He added hesitantly, "Don't you?"

Did she? Veronica gave a shaky laugh, and looked up at the ceiling. "_God _I am so screwed up. Why do you even put up with me?"

"I love you. That's never going to change. No matter what our issues are. You have trust issues, I have jackass tendencies...we know this." He walked up to where she was sitting on the bed, and took her shoulders in his hands, gently pulling her up so she was on her knees, level with him. His loving expression nearly broke her heart. How could he be so open when she found it so hard to let him in? Tears finally began to fall down her face. Veronica didn't want to look at him so she turned her head to the side. Logan wasn't having that, so he took her chin in his hand and turned her back to face him.  
"You're it for me." She could barely stand to look into his eyes. His annoyingly big, puppy-dog brown eyes. They were so full of love, and of hope. She knows he said he'd wait, but it was obvious he wanted some kind of acknowledgement... some kind of encouragement. _Oh god I don't know if I can..._

"You're it for me." He said it again.

"I shouldn't be." She sunk back down on the bed and lowered her head, gathering her thoughts and her strength. _Okay veronica, if this is gonna be it, if you want to do this...talk to him. Now. Put it all out there. Tell him. Before he gets sick of you not making up your mind, no matter how long he says he'll wait. You've been waiting to tell him. Do it now. Before it's too late.__  
_  
"Well, you are...whether you like it or not." He sounded annoyed. _Did he take that the wrong way? Talk Veronica! TALK!_ She was frozen, and couldn't make her mouth move.

"Right then, so...I'll see you." When he started to walk backwards and turned to leave, she finally started to panic, and sat back up on her knees.

"I said I shouldn't be not that I didn't want to be," she said in a rush. He stopped at the door, turned back, and watched as she took a deep breath.

"We are so screwed up..." she said quietly. He opened his mouth to respond, but she put her hand and made a noise to stop him from speaking.

"I know I have trust issues...I know I do. And I know I hold you to these ridiculous standards...I just... I don't know." She shook her head. Logan walked back up to the bed so he stood in front of her again. She continued softer. "No normal person can live up to them, I know that, too. But it gives me an excuse to leave first when you don't. I'm selfishly self-preserving that way. 'Cause then you don't have the power to hurt me. And someone having that kind of power over me scares the crap out of me," she said with wide eyes. Another thought occurred to her. She didn't really want to bring this up, but if they were getting everything out there...she might as well do this now too.

"I was jealous as hell when you started dating Parker," she admitted to him. "But when I found out about Madison..." she started and Logan sighed and turned his head—he didn't want to look at _her_ now.  
_  
Madison._ _God,_ the thought of what he did with that girl still made him want to heave.

"After I left that day, I know I put up this hard front... but I walked around feeling nauseous for weeks."

Logan hung his head. _If she still can't get past that..._

Looking back up at her, he said desperately, "Veronica I don't know what else I—"

"No." She shook her head quickly and put her hands on his shoulders. She wasn't bringing this up to yell at him again.

"Yes, it hurt me, but I think... I mean... okay, yeah, I really wouldn't mind punching her in the face if I ever see her again...but I think we've... I don't know." She dropped her hands down by her side. Why was she having a hard time getting this out right? She'd thought of what to say to him every night this whole summer. "I'm trying to be honest here. I REALLY might hurt her if we cross paths again...like really _really_ hurt her….. but I'm trying to make this not an issue anymore. I'm trying to forget about it."

He didn't look as happy as she expected.

"Forget but not forgive?"

"I forgave you a long time ago," she told him. "But I can't just go back to the way it was. I can't. _We_ can't. That nearly destroyed us both." She paused. "With as strong as I make myself out to be—" Her voice cracked. _Damnit_. "...Logan I don't think I could survive it again if we... " Tears slipped down her cheeks again.

Not being able to stand seeing her like this, he pulled her to him. "I know... I know." He rested his cheek on top of her head.

She pulled back and sniffed, suddenly very forceful and serious.

"No I don't think you do. You've always worn your heart on your sleeve. I've never been able to do that. It's just not _in _me. My experience of... of love and... and of marriage is what? Drinking? Affairs? Murder, even? My view is a little bit skewed towards the negative." He watched as she tried to gather herself.

"But I..." Veronica stopped for a deep breath, but she couldn't look at him. _Oh just _say it _Veronica!_

_Here goes...__  
_  
"I do love you." She closed her eyes. "I know I don't show it very well, and I don't know if I've ever really told you, said the actual words... but I do. Being away from you, or not with you, sucks. I'm crabby and angry at everyone who's happy...Dating other people doesn't work for me either, you know." She took his face in her hands again, and studied his eyes. His nose. His lips. _Can I see my life without him? Can I really see my life with anyone else?_

"If I stop kidding myself, stop lying to myself..." She shakes her head. She can't believe she's saying this. "You're it for me too."

He just stared at her. That's the biggest declaration he's ever heard from her—the best thing he could ever hope to hear from her.

Before he can grab her and kiss her she puts her hands up to stop him. "But we can't just fall back into old habits."

"Right." Slightly frustrated, he sat on the bed next to her. "So that puts us where exactly?"

"I don't know," she says honestly, and sits down next to him.

"Well, we obviously can't go back," He said, jumping up agitated. "And I don't want to just stand still. I get all jumpy and do stupid things when I've got nothing to do." Veronica smiled at him.

"I know you do." She paused, then "I think we can go forward."

"Really?"

She looks at him. _This is it. There really is no one else._

"Yes. I think so. Carefully. And _slowly_." Which he knew was code for we're not going to jump back into bed together.

He walked up to the bed again. She put her hands on his chest, keeping him from coming too close.

"We can take baby steps. Tiny, minuscule steps forward while we work out our…..issues. Cause we certainly have a few." She picks at a piece of lint on his shirt.

"Baby steps?"

"Baby steps." She looks up at him, looking deep into his eyes, a small smile crinkled her eyes.

"Baby steps." They both sigh as he wraps his arms around her waist. _Finally_ they're touching. "So what's step one?" he asks quietly.

"Admitting there's a problem."

"Check." He pulled her in tighter.

"And promising to fight through them no matter what crap gets thrown our way. Cause with everything going on, there's gonna be a lot. And we can't do this if we're not going to promise each other we won't leave. No matter how crazy we make each other. No matter what happens."

Again, he pulled her tighter, so their bodies were completely flushed together. "No matter what."

"Are you going to keep repeating whatever I say?"

"Seems to be working for me so far," he smirked. "So we've got lots of problems. I'm not gonna let you go this time. Check. What's step two?"

Veronica's arms slip up and around his neck. "I don't know. I don't have all the answers, you know."

"I'm sorry, what? Could you repeat that?" he asks incredulously, pulling back with a look of fake wonder.

"I don't have all the— oh, shut up." She leaned back and slapped his chest. "Doesn't happen very often," she mumbled at him, and he chuckled. Looking back up at him, things got very serious again. At the same moment, they both realized they hadn't sealed the deal yet.  
He leaned down very slowly to meet her as she tilted her face up towards his. "Baby steps," she whispered, right before his lips touched hers.

It was unbelievably timid for them. No hint of anything more, just his lips pressed against hers, both taking a moment to revel in the familiar contact. She had almost forgotten… Almost.

When they both pulled back, he sees her face. Her eyes are closed and she's smiling. He knows the feeling. Like coming home.

"That was pretty infantile," he said. She let out a huff of air, which he took as a laugh, and she opened her eyes.

"I think we can try that step again," she says.

"Well I'm all for due diligence." He smirked at her and leaned in again.

This time Logan moved his lips against hers. Slowly at first. And softly. There was nothing urgent about his movements, but it was intense all the same. It really had been too long since he'd held her in his arms. And if things went the way he planned, she'd be there for a long time. Forever, even.

Veronica had missed this. She sighed into the kiss, running her hands through the hair at the base of his neck. He tasted of pure love and adoration. Promise. And slightly of peanut butter. His hands were fisted in her shirt at her the back, no doubt trying to keep hold of himself. She realized he was following her lead.

Wanting more, she tentatively touched her tongue to his lips, and he all but groaned when he opened his mouth, accepting it and running his along hers. He squeezed her even closer, if it was possible.

He had pulled her so close and so tightly she was basically lifted off the bed, held up just by him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and head, not wanting to let go. They were very quickly moving into dangerous territory. It was getting too heated to be considered any type of "baby step". _God_ she loved this. Loved _him_.

When air was becoming an issue, she had to use all the will power she possessed to pull back. Her breathing was labored, and she remained inches from his mouth. She could feel his breath, and wanted nothing more than to crash her lips back on his. Veronica had a sudden thought of how hard going slow was going to be, and said as much.

"Wow. This is gonna suck," she said with her eyes still closed. He laughed out loud and pressed another quick kiss to her lips then one to her forehead.

"I love you. We can do this. This is going to work."

"I know." She pulled back and they smiled at each other. It was a smile that stretched across her entire face, and they both laughed at how ridiculous and good it felt. She reached out and hugged him sighing in comfort, and he squeezed her tight and swirled her off the bed. She giggled. Yes, that's right folks. Veronica Mars giggled. No one could twirl a girl like Logan.

When he put her down and smoothed the hair away from her face, she gazed up at him, and her eyes sparkled with laughter and happiness.

"I love you."

He leaned down and kissed her again, lingering a bit. "I could get used to hearing that."

"Good."

"I love you too."

"I know."

"Okay, then."

"Okay." If she wasn't so ridiculously happy, she'd be disgusted with how much they were smiling.

"So you think they're at the door listening for screams and shattering glass?"

"Who?" she was confused.

"You're dad and Wallace."

"Oh!" She gave a slight laugh. "No...he knows we needed to talk. I'm sure he gave us some space. And Alicia will keep Wallace away. She likes you."

"Wallace's mom likes me? How is that even possible? She doesn't even know me." She took his hand and they walked out of her room and sure enough, the place was empty, but they both heard Back-Up barking outside in the courtyard.

"Use it. She's got good sway over my dad. Although apparently you don't really need that either nowadays."

"Who'd a-thought I'd ever be a parent pleaser?"

"Not I..."

"So what do you think? First date on Friday?" Logan asked when they made it to and opened the front door.

"First date?"

"Yeah. We're starting over. Baby steps and all that, right? We never really got a real first date, anyway."

"A chance for me to agonize for hours over what to wear and you come pick me up at my door and my dad puts the fear of God into you?"

"Sure." He smiled at her.

"Okay. Friday sounds good." She smiled. By Friday, they'd have a week of classes behind them and she'd be in need of a good break.  
Logan got weary when her smile to a worried frown.

"What?"

"Is this going to be weird?" she asked. He looked down at their clasped hands.

"Nah...we'll be good." He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, as her Dad made his way towards them.

"So," Keith said, looking between the two of them. "Is Logan staying for dinner?

"No, no. Don't want to intrude. I'll call you later Vero-"

"No stay." She said, surprising herself a little.

He raised his eyebrows. "Stay? Dinner with the family? Isn't that like a 10th step or something?"

"Not in our program." He looked at her, as Keith was watching them curiously.

"You sure?"

"Yup. Stay."

"Okay then."

"Well there's plenty of meat...why don't you start up the grill Logan? I'll go grab the steaks. Veronica?" He walked back into the apartment, and Veronica gave Logan a smile and followed her dad inside.

Keith looked at his daughter across the counter as he grabbed the pan with the marinating steaks. He noticed she had a few tear streaks down her cheeks, but she was smiling.

"Everything okay?" he asked her.

"Better than. We're gonna take it slow, you know? Make sure it sticks this time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I love him. He loves me. We're both very aware of how screwed up we are, but we're gonna take it one step at a time. Work through everything. No running away. No being stupid."

"Hey now, no daughter of mine could be screwed up too much." He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a shake.

"Just the right amount then?"

"_Exactly_ the right amount."

"Thanks Dad," she said in all seriousness. He smiled at her and said, "Come on, lets not give the boy enough time to light the place on fire..."

Veronica rolled her eyes at him and followed him outside.

This was gonna be good. Real good.

* * *

**So there you go! Hope you like it! I'm really interested to read reviews to hear what you think! I know a lot of fics have them having pretty much the same make-up conversation, but this is really what I picture them saying to each other when they finally work things out. Know that it's not my intention to copy anybody else's work!  
Of course they still have a lot to get through so it's not all sunshine and rainbows from here!

Another note- I went back and re-read all my previous chapters, and realized that apparently I live in a world where the week is about 10 days long. I haven't been paying attention to what day of the week I say it is, but since it's not quite detrimental to the story, take it with a grain of salt. It is what day I say it is. :)

As always...  
ReviewReviewReview!

-heratulipsia


	8. With a Little Help From My Friends

Yeah...so sorry about the (almost) two month long delay. Life sort of creeps up on you, as I'm sure you all know. Also, ch 7 was kinda where my brain stopped when I first started writing this, so it's taken a while to get the juices flowing again. What I've got now was actually twice as long as my normal chapters, so I decided to split it into two. I didn't really have an amazing spot to split it, but at least you know you won't be waiting two months for the next piece!

And some of you asked for it... Here's a little bit of Weevil and some good ole ensemble interaction! MaDi next chapter... :)

* * *

Chapter 8

The first day of classes was always kind of exciting for Veronica. She loved that eager feeling that came with the start of a new school year. Who cared if it made her slightly dorky? She liked school. She was good at it. She knew she'd reach the mid-semester burnout period like everyone else, but took comfort in the fact that she was more equipped to cope with it. Pulling all-nighters was not a foreign concept for her, having spent many an evening in her car waiting for a cheating spouse to show their true colors before being able to start on homework. She had mastered the ability to cram and pump out well-written multi-page papers in high school. That was one particular skill she knew would come in handy this semester. For some reason, she felt her "extra-curricular activities", like say, bringing down the Russian mob, would take up a considerable amount of her time. Who knew how long it'd take Levi to get in deep enough for them to spring a trap. She didn't envy him.

Veronica sighed and sat down at a table outside the Hearst student union. She pulled out her lunch and a book from her bag, and scanned the students walking around her. She was meeting Logan, but apparently he wasn't out of his class yet.

She smiled. There was something good she could think about.

Things were going great. Granted, they'd only been back together for what, two and a half days? But it was a happy two and a half days, so that's what counted. When she'd told Wallace and Mac about their reconciliation, they'd given her knowing looks, clearly not surprised at all. Honestly, it kinda irked her. Were they really that predictable?  
Oh well. She and Logan had slipped back into a comfortable relationship pretty easily, but this time there were a few important things that were different. Veronica had actually said I love you on the phone to someone other than her dad. And she _meant _it. That was the kicker.

This was new territory for her, so she knew she had to be careful. Not that she thought she'd ever go overboard on the lovey-dovey stuff. And she would never say the words and not mean them. Not when Logan knew what it actually took for her to say them. And the sappy stuff just wasn't her. He probably wouldn't believe her if she started calling him honey bun or baby in a non-joking way, anyway. Their endearments were used with an undertone of sarcasm and jest. Sugarpuss? Though she'd never admit it, she loved that one.

They'd enjoyed their last day of freedom together, and spent Sunday at the beach. She'd lain in the sun while he did a little surfing, and they'd walked along the sand, had pretzels, hotdogs, and even snow cones. All the delicious non-nutritious beach staples. It was wonderful. It was nice and normal. It was starting out just like she had hoped it would.

It honestly scared her a bit. But being scared and cynical was the old Veronica, right? Waiting for the other shoe to drop? She tried very hard, but it was entirely difficult to be optimistic when there was any number of shoes dangling ominously above…

_Shake it off Veronica. Happy thoughts. __Ah, perfect._

She gave Logan a bright smile as he made his way over to her table. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before sitting down beside her.

"Hey handsome! First creative writing class, right? How was it?"

Logan had actually decided to declare an English major. It wasn't really surprising to Veronica, she knew he liked to write and was actually more than decent at it (when he wasn't copying scripts from Aarons crappy movies, that is).

"How does it feel to be so driven? So goal-oriented? So decidedly ambitious?" she continued in dramatic fashion.

He blinked at her. "I don't know if I'd go that far."

"So? How was it?"

He just shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Just okay?" She was apparently going to have to pull it out of him. He would never be openly excited about school- no matter how much she knew he enjoyed writing.

He rolled his eyes at her persistence. "Not as boring as it could have been. The professor was good. Kinda depressing though."

"Isn't that how all authors are? All broody and bitter...angry at the world for the hand life's dealt them?" she asked, dramatic still.

Logan just looked at her "Good to know if I ever feel like that I can come to you for a motivational speech."

She just shrugged and smiled at him, unashamed of her teasing.

He laughed at her and pulled her head closer to press a kiss on her temple.

"Do you still think you want to do creative writing?"

"Maybe. It was just the first day."

"Well, yeah. There's still plenty time to make up your mind. Normal people change their major at least once, you know."

"Yeah. I know you're not normal." He teased, and inwardly shook his head at her obvious enthusiasm for the school year. Of course it wasn't really surprising. She always did have to know _everything_. _Most_ of the time, like right now, he thought it was cute.

"You could sign up for a film class as an elective or something... I bet they'd let you in even if the class was full."

"Yeah, that's the reason I don't know if I want to." Veronica knew that was why he was hesitant. For all he took advantage of the perks of being rich and (sorta) famous, this was the one thing he didn't want to use his fathers name for. Veronica thought differently. This was the _only_ thing she thought he should _ever_ use him for. Might as well use the bastard for something.

"Well, there's always next semester. See how you like English, and switch if you hate it." Changing the subject, he asked her about her classes.

"What did you have this morning? How to Be a Badass 101?"

"Ha! Like that can be taught... No, just a gen-ed this morning. Organic Chem."

He made a face. "Sounds fun."

She just shrugged. "Wasn't too bad. My criminal law class is this afternoon." They were interrupted by a group of students (she used that term loosely) passing by.

"Echolls! Hey looking forward to the bash on Saturday! It's gonna be tiiiiight..."

Logan lifted his chin, acknowledging the random kid. "Great. I'm sure the whole school will be there now," he said to himself.

Veronica raised her eyebrows in question. "Who was that? And to where?"

He sighed. "Miss Mars, you are cordially invited to the party of the year. And I have no idea who that was."

"Party of the year? Already? Oh goody," she said, with obvious fake enthusiasm.

"Dick and I are throwing a move out bash."

"At the Grand? To what? Celebrate all the wonderful times spent there?"

"You're just a ray of sunshine this morning, you know that? Besides. We had some good times in the bedroom."

"Yeah, all that cuddling." She said, wistfully sighing, trying to get a rise out of him. She was successful.

"Hey!" he responded indignantly. "I'll have you know no one has ever complained—" She put her hand over his mouth and shook her head, stopping him before he said something she really didn't want to hear.

He scrunched his face in distaste, realizing he probably shouldn't continue.

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, but grabbed his chin and pulled him in for a light kiss.

"I was kidding. You _are_ a good cuddler, but you have other more impressive talents."

His eyes flashed with desire, and it took a few seconds for him to shake it off. Really. Was she _trying_ to torture him?

Wanting to change the subject, since they hadn't talked about when they'd be taking their relationship to the next level again, Logan looked at her open textbook beside her lunch.

"Homework already? It's the first day of class."

"This is for my class this afternoon."

"Good God woman! Must you read ahead before the class even starts?"

"It's interesting!" she defended.

"Sure it is," he said.

"And you should want me to know all this stuff! Just think- next time you get _arrested_, I'll _really_ know what to do. And I won't have to go around the system. Or at least it'll be easier."

"Funny. Anyway, this Saturday," he continued like she hadn't said anything, "I'm sure Dick's already told Mac, but you should bring Wallace too. Whoever. Mi hotel suite es su hotel suite."

"Right. I'm sure it'll be another wonderful display of collegiate activity. When do you start moving all your stuff out?"

He'd gotten everything worked out with the realtor and the bank, and Logan was now the proud owner of an 8,000 square foot house on beachfront property.

"We can move in starting Monday."

"Are you hiring people to do it?"

"No I was gonna move all my crap all by myself," he deadpanned. "Yes, I'm hiring someone to do it."

Veronica scrunched her face.

"What?" He knew that look.

"Well..."

"What?"

"I just want you to be careful. I mean, we don't really want to advertise your new address, and hiring random people might not be the best idea right now. Besides, you don't really have that much stuff, do you? Don't you have to go buy furniture and stuff? You can't take the couches and dressers from the hotel."

Logan looked thoughtful. "You know, I actually bet I could. It'd be easier than shopping for all new stuff. I'd just leave them a _really_ big tip."

"Logan."

"I'm kidding. And yes, I do have to shop for furniture. Or we do, if you wanna help," Logan said. He quickly continued when he saw her eyes dart around nervously,  
"It'll be something really ugly and expensive if me and Dick do it ourselves." Veronica tried not to show a visible sigh of relief, even though that's what she was feeling. For a second she thought he was going to say something outrageous, like… she should have a say in what he bought since she'd probably end up living there with him anyway. That was something she didn't want to think about. Not for a good long while.

Three days back in the relationship. Three days. Too soon for that. It didn't matter they'd both basically admitted they were in it for the long haul this time. Living together (formally, anyway) was too much at the moment.

"But anything I buy is gonna have to be delivered to me anyway. People will find out soon enough."

"Well we can at least stall until the upgraded security gets set up next week... Okay how about this. You rent a truck. You hire guys to load and box up all your stuff into it, then _we_ unload it. You're a big boy. I'm sure we can handle it. Get trustworthy people over to help. I'll get Wallace and my Dad to help at least."

"Trustworthy people." He blinked at her again. "Cause I know a lot of those. And you won't be any help 'cause you're still supposed to be taking it easy on that arm."

Logan was constantly reminding her to go easy on her arm. If it was sweet, it would almost be annoying. Good thing she liked him.

"I'm _fine_."

"And Your Dad? Is that really a good idea?"

"He's gonna want to know where you live anyway. He can check it out and not be able to freak out when I come over."

He sighed and looked at her, defeated.

"You so owe me for this, Mars," he said, grabbing a chip from her bag as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Hey! Go buy your own food!" She slapped his hand when he tried to take another one. "This was made with love all for me." Her dad had packed her a lunch for her first day of classes. It was kinda cheesy, she knew, but it had sort of developed into a tradition, so she really didn't care. Plus it was free.

"You're such a food hog," Logan said, ruffling her hair in affection, before he got up and went to buy his food inside.

Veronica watched him leave. He was so nice to look at from behind…  
_  
Whoa. Down girl. You told yourself not for a while. Control yourself. __  
_  
Her wistful smile turned upside down as she scanned the quad. She spotted a figure, flanked by two other non-student looking types, walking across the grass.

It was almost as if he could feel her murderous glare, because Goyra turned his head like he was searching for her. When they locked eyes, neither did anything but stare for a few seconds. It took all her will power, every speck of strength that she had in her, not to chase him down and let him have it.

His mouth curved into a smirk, and then he winked. The bastard actually winked.

Logan came back with his food, and sat down. "So, how was— what?" he immediately noticed her less than pleasant demeanor. He followed her murderous stare, watching the retreating figure. He made a noise and started to get up, but Veronica yanked him back down.

"Absolutely not."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. He just gave me a friendly little smile and a wink. I don't think he has the balls to come over here, what with all the witnesses around."

Veronica was actually a bit disappointed. It would have made her day if she had gotten to taze him. It would have been incredibly stupid, but _extremely_ satisfying.

Veronica started packing up her bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta run."

"You're gonna leave me here to eat all by myself?" he asked, feigning hurt. He watched her stuff her book back in her bag.

"I have a meeting." He didn't quite buy that.

"Veronica." She didn't stop.

He grabbed her hand.

"You tell me the minute you think of doing something stupid, got it? And I'll be there."

"To stop me or to join me?" She smirked, not looking at him, and didn't wait for him to answer. "Calm down. I'm not doing anything stupid."  
She smiled at him. He really was very sweet. Veronica gave him a quick kiss, and started walking away.

She turned around, knowing he'd still be watching and waiting for an answer. Walking backwards, she said to him "I'm going to see Weevil."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" he called after her.

Veronica just smiled and blew him a kiss.

A hand slapped down on Logan's shoulder. "You're always watching her walk away. Shouldn't that tell you something?"

Logan scowled and shrugged the hand off him. He sat back down at the table, and Dick sat down across from him, setting his three slices of pizza on the table.

"Thanks for inviting the entire campus for Saturday, by the way," Logan said.

"What's a party without a few hundred of our closest friends?" Dick said with a smile. "Is your ball and chain gonna make an appearance?"

"She didn't say she wasn't coming. So yes, I assume she's coming. _And_ bringing Mac with her." He answered the question he knew Dick really wanted to know.  
"Didn't you already tell her?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen her today yet though," Dick said, looking around as if she should be walking up to the table. Looking anywhere but at Logan.

Logan watched him, and then sighed. He didn't want to get all serious with Dick, but he felt he should at least say something. Give him fair warning of the wrath that could befall unto him.

"You hurt her, you play her even the tiniest bit, Veronica will flay you alive. You get that right?"

"Dude. Chill. I know. She'd chop off my balls and feed them to that dog of hers. But Mac's cool. We're... friends. I think." He added.

"Since when have you ever been friends with a chick you didn't want to screw?" Dick just shrugged and remained quiet.

"Just be careful. Tread lightly."

Dick laughed. "Right back 'atchya. I can only imagine what she'll do to _you_ when _you_ piss her off again. She's got to have learned some new tricks with her spy training and everything," he said with a smirk.

Logan rolled his eyes, not rising to the bait. There was something else he needed to discuss with Dick, too. Now was as good a time as any.

"Listen, uh... There's something you should know about the new place."

"Veronica's not moving in with us is she?" He all but whined.

"What? No. She's not. I'm gonna have someone over next week to install a bunch of security. Cameras and stuff. And an upgraded alarm system."

"Does this have to do with why Ronnie was all beat to hell last week?" he asked. Despite popular belief, Dick could be fairly quick on the upkeep about some things. He just chose to ignore most things that didn't directly impact himself.

Logan looked at Dick. He was incredibly loyal, but on the off chance that he let anything slip in a drunken stupor, Dick was given as little information as necessary. Thish basically came down to "Veronica got in a little too deep with a case and there are some bad people in town." That was all true, if a bit cryptic. Veronica had expected some snide comment, but all he had said was_, "Constant vigilance, then eh? I dig the raccoon look, Ronnie. Bad ass."_

When Logan didn't answer, he said, "Whatever dude. You do your thing. Just don't let her, you know, get you killed or anything." Logan knew Dick was curious, but he knew enough to stay out of the crap he and Veronica got into. But Dick was still Dick of course, and he added, "At least until she puts out again."

"Would you let it go?" Logan said, getting irritated. When he had told Dick they were back together, the first thing Dick had asked was if they had had some "steamy hot monkey make-up sex". Logan could have lied and told him yes, but he didn't think Veronica would appreciate that- and knowing Dick, he'd make some kind of comment the next time he saw her. So he was better off just telling the truth.

"No, I won't. I think you're being stupid. And I just don't see how you think you'll be able to keep your hands off each other for more than a day or two at best. It's all fuck or flight with you guys."

"Dick," Logan's tone was edgy with warning.

"All right, all right. Just sayin'."

"I know. So shut up." Dick smiled at his displeasure, because it was obvious Logan was just as frustrated with that fact he wasn't getting any as he was with the fact that Dick kept pointing it out. Not that he didn't respect Veronica's decision, of course, and if he was being honest it was probably a good one, but it still meant he was being deprived of one the few things they were good at.

He steered the conversation back to the party.

"You take care of the liquids, I'll get the grub, yeah?"

"Absolutely." Dick was still smirking.

* * *

Veronica had tracked Weevil down to his little office in the engineering building.

Yes, he had an office. It was more like a little closet filled with all his tools, but he still had a space big enough for a little table desk thing. He was on his lunch break, so when she came in, shut the door behind her, and sat down in the vacant chair, Weevil kept chewing his sandwich, watching her.

Veronica was actually a bit... Upset wasn't the right word. Surprised? Yes. Surprised. She was surprised she hadn't heard from him at all since she'd been back. Especially since she'd had her run in with Danny. That fact troubled her. The reasons were two-fold. It either meant he knew what had happened to her and wanted to keep out of it and at a safe distance, or he had no idea what was going on and therefore would be completely useless to her in getting any new information.

She highly doubted the latter was true.

They stared at each other.

"You look good for a punching bag." _Ah, I thought so.__  
__  
"_Aw, so nice to know you care." She said with a fake sweetness. The bruises were fading, and really only noticeable under her makeup if you were looking for them.  
And Weevil obviously had studied her closely to see them. So maybe he did care. Scratch surprised. She was kinda pissed. They weren't BFF's or anything, but she thought she and Weevil were friends. She'd check up on _him_ if she heard _he'd_ gotten beat up.

"How was Virginia? You got a concealed weapon on you?"

"You mean a licensed one?" She asked, all innocent. Being mean and yelling at him wasn't going to get her anywhere. _Might as well stick to what works_. Her expression changed back to her sweet face. "I need a little information."

"Of course you do."

"You know anything about narcotics being pushed through our fine, upstanding town?"

"Now why would I know anything about that?"

"Thumper used to deal with the Fitzpatricks, no?"

"Yeah, well, Thumper is dead, if you don't remember, so I can't ask him."

"Weevil. This is serious. Do you know anything?"

"V, don't go poking into this."  
_  
Well, at least I know he knows something._ "Weevil, this is _extremely_ important. What do you know?"

He sighed. "Apparently, there's been some heavy stuff coming in from TJ. I don't know specifics. You know I don't deal with that stuff. Never worth the trouble."

"Are they moving it through or stashing it?"

He looked reluctant to keep this conversation going. "Moving it would be my guess. By water. Can't keep that stuff hidden for long."

"Moving it to where? Where do they keep it before they ship it out?"

"Do I look like a coke dealer to you, woman? I only hear rumors. Come on, V, can't you leave this alone? Let the police deal with it."

"Yeah, cause that's how things get done around here," she said sarcastically.

Weevil sighed. "Veronica-"

"I know. I'm being careful. One more thing," she said, smiling sweetly at him.

"What?"

"You know some kid named Goyra Sorokin? Or Gory? Whichever."

"Kid your boy beat up last spring?" _Good. _If Weevil knew anything about the connection between the Sorokins and the Fitzpatricks, she would have gotten a bigger reaction.

"Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where he parks, would you? Black Lexus, obnoxious rims? Kid who walks around with an entourage?"

Weevil had to have heard of what happened to Logan this summer. She wasn't quite sure if he knew the details of it though. She could just play innocent and see what happens. She could always head tilt him. "Suped up SUV? Those are all over campus, V."

She stared at him and blinked.

Tilt.

"West quad parking lot. There's usually some guy in the parked car next to it though. You need me to get you the license plate?"

Veronica looked insulted. He shook his head at her again.

"Go easy, eh, Mars?"

She got up and walked out, but stopped when he called out to her.

"V! Trouble's got your number, but you still got mine, yeah?"

She smiled.

"Thanks Weevs."

* * *

Logan was shutting the rear driver's side door of his car when he looked up and saw Veronica walking towards him.

"Hey. Wanna help me plant a tracker on Goyra's car?" she asked without preamble. "I need a distraction."

"That douche who had you creamed? I'll help. What sort of distraction would you prefer?" _Damnit. _

Dick. He came around the other side of the car. Veronica hadn't seen him.

Logan looked at her in apology. It wasn't his fault though. She had started yacking before she knew they were alone.

She studied Dick, then looked at Logan with raised eyebrows and a pensive expression. Logan just shrugged. _Why not?_

_Hmm. This could get interesting. Please God don't let me regret this. _"Where's your car?" she asked him.

"Uh... behind the science building I think." Good. That was the west side of campus.

"Perfect. We'll meet you there in 10 minutes."

"How do you know he's still on campus?"

"He had a 4 o'clock class. It's the first day. He'd go, right?"

"Let's hope so. It's a little after 5 already."

Veronica cursed. "Hurry."

They found Dick parked on the opposite side of the lot as the Lexus.

"Okay, there's a black Lexus- plate 549JB8K- over in the third row," she told Dick. "I need you to distract the guy in the big car next to it."

"I can do that." Dick got in his car. "Wait, Dick—!" But he had already driven off.

Veronica looked incredulous at Logan- "He's being so…helpful." She said in awe. She couldn't believe it. Logan thought he knew the reason why, but chose not to voice it.

She shook off her disbelief, and quickly pulled Logan through the row in front of the Lexus so she could stick the tracker on the inside of the body above the tire.

Logan's phone started to vibrate, and he answered it. _"Uh, dude, that guy's getting into the Lexus."_

"Shit- Veronica, Goyra's at his car."  
_  
Crap_. She deflated. "We'll have to do it tomorrow."

Logan told Dick to abort.

"_Nah, I got this."_

"Wait, Dick-" Logan tried to stop him.

Veronica heard a screech and a crunch.

"Did he just rear end him?" she asked, once again incredulous.

Her question was answered when she heard Dick get out of his car and exclaim in a heavily surf-ified voice, "Aw, man! I totally didn't see you dude. That's so my bad!"

She heard Goyra get out of his car and slam his door shut. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you blind?"  
_  
That's my queue._ She pulled out what looked like some type of cell phone and black button from her bag, and with the push of a button, a little green light appeared on the tracker.  
Veronica crept up to the front of the car, and stuck the tracker on above the tire. _Perfect_. She duck-walked back to where Logan was crouched watching Dick. He was chuckling. Goyra's "body guards" were trying to separate the two boys and push him back into his car.

"Oh get over it man, I barely tapped your bumper! Mine's the one with the busted headlight!" Thank God he hadn't done any damage to Goyra's car.

"Because you're the idiot who ran into my car! Just get him out of here!"

Dick called him a colorful name even Veronica had to snicker at, before he got back in his car and sped off. Veronica and Logan waited until Goyra and the other car in the entourage had left the parking lot before they made their way over to Dick. He had pulled into a spot at the other end of the lot.

"Wow Dick. I'm impressed," Veronica said to him.

"Not bad for the first day of school. I'm learning so much!" he joked.

"I'll get you a new headlight," Logan said.

"Oh, I know," Dick winked at Veronica.

* * *

The rest of the week was pretty quiet. They didn't see Goyra at all, and as far as Veronica could tell, the tracker was working. She checked it every night, and he really didn't go anywhere interesting. At least not in his own car. Just back and forth to school and to the bars downtown, and to random unimportant places. He hadn't gone near the Stix or anywhere else suspicious. She guessed that was a good thing, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed and frustrated that she wasn't doing more. She didn't like having other people running the show. She wasn't used to it. There were still a few cases she was helping her dad on at Mars Investigations, though. She was surprised he had time to focus on so many things at once.

"A new client? Really?" She asked when Keith handed her a file.

"Still need to bread on the table somehow. Speaking of which, were you planning on getting your job at Java Hut back? Or anywhere else?"

"I don't know. Probably the library again, if anywhere."

"I hate having to ask you to do this, with school and everything, honey... But if you're not working yet,-"

"It's fine." She waved him off. "I just can't believe you've had time to take on more than you can handle."

"We're not getting paid for this FBI thing, remember? Or at least not yet. We've got to keep the business going. But this is just an easy one. The usual."

Veronica scanned the file. How depressing was that? Woman suspicious of spouse cheating was "the usual". _Hard to have faith in the sanctity of marriage when you're surrounded by this day after day._

Not that she was thinking about that stuff at all. That was her dream with Duncan. The white picket fence. The 2.5 kids and the golden retriever. Veronica had learned you could still have all that and be miserable.

She could probably still have the dog, though. And maybe just a security wall instead of a fence…. Maybe surrounding a back yard with a pool, big enough for two or three kids to splash in. And for her to join them if she wanted. Or maybe she could just lounge on a chair nearby and watch, and wait for a guy who _still_ wore puka shell necklaces to bring her lemonade.

Nope.

Never crossed her mind.

* * *

A/N- Hope you like it! Like I said, the next one will be up soon! Probably later on this week.

Question…

Anyone wanna be my beta?

I've decided I need one (at least) for this story- if only to help me with my timeline and to bounce ideas off of. Or I could have more than one cause I would welcome any grammar/writing/continuity help. AND it would be wonderful to have someone who knows their cannon front to back. It's been a while for me and I don't remember all the little details. I don't really care if you're a registered beta (it'd be nice, but not essential to me). If you've written anything before that'd be cool too, but again, not essential (as this is my first piece I've written and I'd trust my own judgment- I understand there are many good, smart readers out there who just prefer to read instead of write). But a bonus….You'd get to see the stuff before anyone else….. Enticing for anyone? Let me know! Thanks for reading!

And as always….

ReviewReviewReview!

-heratulipsia


	9. Don't Kiss Me Like This

A/N: So... Sorry for the long delay! I was on vacation (harry potter world!) and I started working with a few betas. They've been fantastic, so a huge thank you to emmettsgirl25 and Robin Hoodlum for all their help and suggestions!

This one's full of character development and not too much action, cause that's where my brain was. I'm working on getting a timeline going so I know exactly where I'm taking this...  
Thanks so much for sticking with me! I love all the reviews! They make my day!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9  
Don't Kiss Me Like This

A full week of school, no matter if you had early classes or not—which Veronica had a few of—was tiring when you weren't used to it. She was very happy when Friday rolled around. It meant the weekend. And date night. They were just planning on doing something simple—dinner down on the pier, she thought—but it still had significance. Their first official date as a functioning, committed, semi-normal couple.

It felt wonderfully normal. She tried on multiple outfits, like any girl going on a date would, before settling on a simple, flowy black skirt and a deep jewel toned purple halter-top, and a pair of sandals. It was comfortable and casual enough, but still nice.

Logan came to pick her up right on time. He was laid back and causal too, but boy was it still mouth watering. How could Logan wear a simple pair of khaki pants and still look delicious? He was wearing the green shirt he knew she loved, too. It made her smile, and she leaned up to give him a quick kiss hello. She was all ready to pull him out the door to avoid talking to her dad, but of course, Keith wasn't going to just let them sneak away. He came out of his room and stopped them from leaving.

"Logan," he said in greeting. "You kids off?"

"Yup! See you later!" Veronica was all but pushing Logan out the door.

"Veronica." She sighed and turned around, giving her dad a '_don't you do it_' kind of look. He ignored it and smiled at her. "Would you mind stepping outside for a minute? I'd like to speak with Logan."

"Was that a request? Cause…." Seeing that it was not, she groaned. "Dad, really? You're _really_ going to do this."

"Just for a minute, Veronica."

"You've got to be kidding me," she murmured under her breath as she opened the door wider and stepped outside. When she attempted to leave the door cracked, Keith called out to her, and she pulled it shut with a bang.

Keith looked at Logan and they both chuckled at her actions.

Logan's amusement was short lived, however, because Keith's face quickly changed to one much more serious.

When Keith didn't make a move to start their conversation, Logan frowned. He was confused. He had hoped they were on better terms now.

"This isn't gonna be one of those what are your intension talks, is it?" They'd had quite a chat over the summer while he was in the hospital, and beyond that, he was pretty sure they'd already had this conversation at least twice before.

Keith looked amused at Logan's defensive stance.

"Calm down, Logan," he said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to make sure you're keeping your head about you." Keith had been impressed with how levelheaded Logan had been about the whole Sorokin situation so far. He had certainly come a long way in the last few years. But he _did_ feel like he had to reaffirm that they were all working together. If Agent Booth knew the kid standing in front of him at all, he would thank him.

"You wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything stupid on my own." It wasn't a question, and by the look on Keith's face, that was exactly what he was asking.

"I'll admit it," Logan said, "I've gone over in my head about a million ways I'd have that son of a bitch taken care of, and I want nothing more than to find him myself and and make him bleed, but… even I can see that would only cause more problems."

Keith could have been put off; he could have been worried about the venom he heard in Logan's words, because he knew Logan could do it and get away with it. Money could do just about anything in this town. The scary thing was Keith didn't know if he would have stopped him.

"Good," Keith said, clapping and rubbing his hands together. "Now for the fun part."

"What?"

"I am not naive to the relationship you have with my daughter," he started, and Logan actually looked a little scared. _Good. At least I can still put the fear of God into him,_ he thought_._ "But I expect you to respect my curfews and decisions when it comes to Veronica's well-being. She still lives under my roof. I know you have a house now, one that I would very much like to see once you're all moved in, by the way," he added, "and I know she'll be spending a considerable amount of time over there with you. But I would like to see my daughter more than just a few nights a week." He let that sink in. "I'm beginning to like you, Logan. Don't ruin it. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," he said automatically. Then he said a little quieter, "I've told you before that I love your daughter. I'm gonna do my best not to screw this up."

"All right then. Veronica!" He yelled to her, and the door was opened before he even finished.

She walked in, looking between the two of them nervously. She had tried her best to listen through the door, but she hadn't had much luck.

"See! That wasn't so bad! He's not even bleeding!" Keith exclaimed.

"That's not funny." She was still skeptical.

"Have a good time!"

When they walked out the door, she immediately questioned him. "What did he say?"

"Normal stuff. Don't hurt my daughter or I'll kill you."

"You're kidding me."

He smiled at her and threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Not in so many words. But…" Logan shook his head in disbelief.

"But what?"

"I'm pretty sure he gave you permission to sleep at my house."

"What?"

"Yeah. Just that I can't keep you all to myself."

Veronica's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Yeah. It was weird. He also said he was starting to like me."

She stopped walking. "That's it. That man was not my father. That was an impostor."

Keith apparently respected their decision to be grown-up about their relationship and checkered past. It was working in their favor in more ways than one.  
Veronica shook her head as he pulled her along and she got into his car. Logan saw her brow was still furrowed, and she was thinking awfully hard.

"Gift horse, Veronica…" he said to her, eyebrow raised.

Right. Her dad was pretty amazing. Something good had happened. Don't analyze it to death.

She smiled at him reassuringly, and said, "Let's go eat! I'm starving."

"No. You?"

* * *

The next day, Dick was staring at the countless bottles of alcohol arranged on the counter. There was a keg on the floor, and a folding table set up on the other side of the couch, fully equipped with plastic cups, ping pong balls, quarters, dice, and any other thing that could possibly be required for drinking fun. Logan was out picking up all sorts of unhealthy junk food. He made a face at the keg. They really could use a bit more beer. He thought about calling Logan, and whipped out his phone.

"Yeah!" the voice answered.

"Mac-Attack! I was wondering if you could do me a favor…" There was a pause.

"I say yes hesitantly and retain the right to change said answer."

"Oh, it's nothing to get worked up about."

"Oh really? Not like last time when you asked me for a favor?"

"That was a compliment, Mac. The girl-on-girl action in that porno was all wrong. You and Ronnie could have totally done so much better. That's all I was saying," he told her, humor in his voice.

"And you think I would watch that crap why?"

"Exactly. It was crap." The day she helped Dick bring Logan home for the hospital, Dick had thought it was hilarious to turn the TV on to the "adult erotica" channel and point out all its shortcomings. She didn't find it amusing.

"What do you want?"

"You're coming tonight, right?"

"Yes…" She still sounded very wary.

"I'm worried we're gonna run out of beer, and that is unacceptable. Can you pick up another case on your way over? And whatever you want to drink tonight. Logan'll spot you the dinero."

"Oh he will?" Not that she thought Logan would mind, but she was about 99% sure Logan was unaware of it.

"What else does he need the cash for? He's savin' money on condoms since Ronnie ain't puttin' out." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Nice," she said, and she was sure _he_ could hear her rolling her eyes. "And I sincerely doubt you didn't get more than enough to begin with," she told him.

"What? Condoms? Of course I did." He couldn't resist getting under her skin.  
_  
Why do I hang out with him again?_ She sighed, rolling her eyes upward.

Before she could get too annoyed with him, he dropped the innuendos. "So can you grab something on your way over?"

"I suppose."

"Awesome. You're the best Mac-y!"

"Uh-huh."

"Hey Mac!" he stopped her from hanging up.

"Yeah?"

"What are you wearing?"  
_  
Click.__  
_Dick laughed.  
_  
_Mac rolled her eyes again as she hung up on him. She grabbed her purse from off her desk chair, and flipped her phone back open to call Veronica. When she didn't answer, Mac left a message_. Hey Bond, it's Q. Just letting you know you don't need to come get me tonight. I have to run an errand before hand so I'll just see you at The Grand. Oh, and, this is me being girly and telling you I wanna hear all about your date last night. See you in a bit. Hasta.__  
_

"Drink?" Dick asked Mac, when she had finally made it to the room. Stupid beer was heavy.

"Just water," she answered, and Dick got out two glasses and filled them water. He handed her one, and asked, "Is your uh…, Max coming tonight?"

"If he is it'd be extremely awkward. I broke it off this morning."

"You broke up with him?"

"Yeah. It was getting boring, and he's not quite the guy I thought he was." She could feel his stare, but she refused to look up at him, so instead looked at all the booze lining the counter. Perfect subject change. "How do you have the money to pay for all this? Aren't all your dad's accounts frozen?"

"Yeah, but lucky me, my trust fund isn't part of those accounts. I don't know how it works. Don't really care. All I know is it was all mine the day I turned 21." He rubbed his hands together.

Dick was the oldest of the group; he'd turned 21 the beginning of August, a year ahead of the rest of them. She thought it was kind of funny he was the oldest, yet seldom acted like it.

"And you haven't found a way to blow it all in a month? I'm astonished!" She joked.

"Well... Ping-pong balls and plastic cups don't really cost that much." He smiled and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course."

"What does your dad do for money then?" He didn't answer, and made a face.

"Sorry... We don't have to talk about him," Mac told him, and cursed herself for bringing it up.

"No- it's just..." He paused, staring into his glass. "He called me today. Cancelled our thing next weekend."

"And you're...disappointed."

"I'm not- I don't-" He let out a huff of frustration. "I didn't think I'd actually start liking the guy. You know... when we're not talking about how much of a horrible brother and father we were." It used to throw her when Dick would switch to serious mode from his normal snarky, crude, surfer dude attitude. It was crazy to think that only after a few months she could see most of it was a façade. Not everything, but quite a bit. A lot of things didn't roll off his shoulders as it appeared to.

Mac was silent for a minute. She still couldn't believe she was having these types of conversations, with Dick of all people. Her mom had wanted her to see a psychiatrist last summer, but Mac wouldn't do it. She'd been silent about everything for about a year. She'd had a brief talk/apology/sob fest with Veronica that first night, but they never really talked about it anymore. And she didn't really want to. She still felt pretty gross about the whole thing, even if the sting had lessened a bit.

She was also glad Dick was getting some stuff off his chest. She thought it was helping him. But his excessive guilt _was_ getting to be kind of annoying.

"You know you really need to stop that. It's driving me crazy."

"What?"

"Blaming yourself. This whole guilt thing. It's getting old." Maybe she could sass him out of it.

"How can I not? And how can _you_ not blame me? You got screwed almost more than anybody."  
_  
Wow Dick. Thanks for the sensitivity._ "Actually, I didn't." _In more ways than one, really... Thank God._ "I think Veronica got the worst of it."

"Veronica? Well... she _was_ on the roof, I guess."

"Well that and the fact he almost shot her and Logan. He tazed her. He raped her, lied about it, would have killed her Dad if—"

"Wait—_what_?" Dick stood up abruptly from where he had been leaning against the counter.

Mac froze.  
_Oh God. He didn't know.__  
_  
"He… He _raped_ her?" Dick's voice was awfully small. "When?"  
_  
Shit.__  
__Sorry Veronica._

She swallowed and said slowly, "At some party in high school. After Lily died." He'd gone as white as a sheet. "Dick? Are you—Ah!" Mac shrieked as he turned around and threw his glass against the wall and it shattered. Water splashed and dripped down to the counter.

"GOD DAMNIT!"

She watched as he walked out of the kitchen and slammed his hands down on the back of the couch. He tilted his head up towards the ceiling.

She waited a minute before saying hesitantly, "Dick?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, but didn't turn around. Mac really had no clue what to do. She really couldn't say anything, so she waited for him to talk to her.  
When he did, his voice was quiet. Tortured. "Shelly's party. End of sophomore year." He didn't turn around. "Veronica was...she was practically passed out cause we'd been feeding her shots. We brought her into an empty guest room. Me and Sean,and Beav was with us. We taunted him. Teased him for still being a virgin, and left him there with her. We… God I didn't think..."

"Obviously not," Mac snapped at him. Her anger flared. If she could go back in time and kick high-school Dick in the balls, she'd do it Every. Single. Day.

Mac had to take a breath. She had to think.

Was the guy standing in front of her still that asshole? Was he still that selfish and oblivious to other people's lives and feelings?  
Would he be as beat up and horrified about what she'd just told him if he was? Or have been as good a friend to Logan this summer? Well, he certainly wasn't a saint, that was for sure.

She sighed, and sat on a bar stool behind him, her back to the counter.

"You can still make it right," she said quietly. He was apparently still trying to get a hold of himself, because it was awhile before he asked, "How? How can I _ever_ make that right?"

"Talk to her. She might not blame you."

"Hah!" He barked out a tortured laugh that made Mac cringe. "You don't know Veronica as well as you think you do."

"Or you don't," she countered. Veronica hadn't ever mentioned Dick's name when she told Mac about what she found out about that night in high school. "She may surprise you."

Dick stayed where he was before shaking his head and walking over to unscrew the cap off a bottle of tequila. He took a couple of long, hard swallows. Mac grimaced. He set it down and looked at her. "Want to help me fill this with ice?" He asked, referring to the tub for the keg.

She sighed. She wasn't gonna push. "Sure."

* * *

Veronica and Wallace were driving to The Grand in Veronica's car.

"Shouldn't we be taking separate cars? You know, in case you don't go home tonight?"

"What if _you_ don't go home tonight?" she teased. "And I told you, me and Logan, we're not-"

"Oh yeah. Your whole 'taking it slow' thing. Right." He made air quotes with his fingers.

"You know you could say that with a little more confidence, thank you. You think I don't have the willpower to keep my hands-?"

"You know what? You could _not_ finish that sentence," he interrupted her. "I don't need to know anything about your hands and where you do and do not put them. _Ever_."

Veronica rolled her eyes at him.

"And why are we going so late? I thought you would have been over there early."

"Why? I'm not co-hosting this thing. It's all Dick and Logan. I take no responsibility for drunken underage college kids."

"Like us, you mean."

"Um... pretty sure you're 22, unless you lost the ID I gave you last year. And we're not drunk."

"No, I still got it."

"All right. Then there's nothing to talk about." She smiled at him.

* * *

To Veronica's surprise, Mac was already there when her and Wallace arrived. She had got her message, but had thought that meant she had something to do and would show up late, if at all.

"Hey Veronica!" she said, calling them over to the couch where she, Dick, and three or four others were staring at the flat screen playing a video game. Mac handed off her game controller to the next kid in line, and got up to meet her. Veronica watched as Dick's eyes followed her. When Dick's eyes caught Veronica's, he quickly looked away.  
_  
Hmm...She'd have to keep an eye on him tonight.__  
_  
"Do you want a drink?" Mac asked them.

"You're drinking?" Veronica asked, surprised at the red cup in her hand. Usually Mac was her sober buddy at these things.

"Yeah. It's just a vodka tonic, nothing too exciting. Put bunch of limes in it and it's actually pretty decent."

"Nah, I'm good for now."

"Well I'm gonna go hit up the keg and find me some ladies. Catch you later?" Wallace asked.

"Yeah sure, go spread your love Fabio." Veronica turned back to Mac.

"Any particular reason why we're drinking tonight?"

"I broke up with Max."

"When? Today?" Veronica wasn't really surprised. Mac had been pretty unenthusiastic about their relationship for a while.

"Yeah. Do you know how many classes he went to this entire week? Two. Two classes. I asked him how he expected to graduate if he never left the room, and you know what he said? He said he was thinking he'd just drop out, make money off selling his tests, and live with me. In my dorm room."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No! I'm not. I mean sure, I give him props for making money by basically doing nothing, but come on!"

"He should _do_ something?"

"Yes! How boring and worthless is his life gonna to be? And what would I ever tell my parents? Hey Mom, Dad, this is Max. He sells college tests to slackers for a living and mooches off me for a place to stay." Veronica gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Well look around! There are plenty of fish in the sea, right?" Veronica and Mac looked around the room at the increasingly drunk crowd, then back at each other, and laughed.

"Right….. So? How was the date last night?" Mac asked.

Veronica smiled. They had gone to her favorite Italian place, then down on the pier for ice-cream, and walked on the beach again.

"Just walked on the beach?"

"For the most part." Veronica smiled at her. They _had_ did more than walk. "But it was so wonderfully cheesy," she said with a sheepish grin.

"Cheese is good sometimes." Veronica agreed.

"Oh listen, Veronica, there's something else I need-" She was interrupted when Logan swooped in on them and grabbed Veronica in a kiss.

"Hi," she said with a smile when she pulled away.

"Hey," he smiled back. "Why didn't you get here earlier?"

"I was with Wallace. You know how he likes to be 'fashionably late,'" she joked.

"You want something to drink? I got your Skist in the fridge..."

"A man after my own heart," she sighed at him.

"You need anything Mac?" Logan asked her.

"No I'm good, thanks." Logan started to pull her away.

"Wait- what were you gonna say?" she asked Mac.

"Oh, nothing. It can wait."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I gotta get back to my game anyway. Those kids need some real competition."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later then?"

"Yup."

The party was pretty much the same as any other party she'd been to at Logan's. Lots of people she didn't know, but wanted to say they knew Logan. Veronica was actually having a pretty good time, though. She had invited a few people she'd met in her new classes, and was actually making some new friends.  
About an hour later found her sitting on the couch with Mac while she was taking a break from the little game tourney she'd set up.

"So... Still with the whole cold shower routine?"

"Yeah."

"Is it helping any?"

"The cold showers? Only momentarily," she joked. "But honestly, I have no idea. We haven't hit any bumps yet, but when we do, I'm sure it'll be the right decision."

"Right. So how long do you see that lasting?"

"I don't know. Until I—we—feel like it's the right time."

"So like a few days? A week?"

"Jeez Mac! What, you think I can't control myself either?" Did all her friends think she and Logan were like bunnies who couldn't keep it in their pants?

"I'm not sure. You'll either hold out and it'll be all sexual tension and you'll both be super bitchy and drive us crazy for like a month, or you'll jump on him tomorrow."

"You think I'll give in, not him?"

"Hey! What's going on here? Are you cheating?" Dick barged in on their conversation, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Mac.

"Cheating? Cheating on what?" Mac slapped his arm, trying to shut him up.

"We've got a pool goin' on when you'll get over your stupid 'we're taking it slow' thing and do it already."

"Oh thanks a lot, guys." She glared at them. Mac at least looked a little sheepish. "Who's involved in this?"

"Me, Mac, and Wallace." Veronica narrowed her eyes over in Wallace's direction.

"And what're the bets?"

"Mac has $20 on a week from…yesterday, Wallace's got two weeks, and I've got til the end of the night, and then I owe $50. So you know, if you could help me out with that…."

Veronica glared at him.

"Put me down for $50 for a month."

Dick threw his head back and laughed.

Veronica narrowed her eyes. "I think I know myself a little better than you."

"Haha sure! You know you're only hurting yourself, Ronnie... But I'll take your money!"

"Don't call me Ronnie." She glared at him and got up to get another soda.

The party went on, and when 1 AM rolled around, Veronica figured people would start to trickle out. They didn't. Apparently, Dick had gotten enough alcohol to last for an all weekend drinking binge, and a few people looked like that was their goal. Logan was staying right on the edge between tipsy and drunk, and she had gotten a text from Wallace about an hour ago that just said "I'm out". She figured that meant he was following a girl to another bar or party. She'd call him in the morning. She hadn't seen Dick in a while. She'd been drinking soda all night, and after her third can of sugary goodness, she got up to make her way to the bathroom. She was stopped down the little hallway by someone calling her name.

"Veronica! Can I talk to you for a second?" Dick's eyes were a little glassy, which she figured meant he was drunk. And he'd called her by her full name. He never did that.

She waited and when he didn't say anything, she prodded him on. "What, Dick?"

"Listen, um... I'm, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't know what...what he did."

"What who did?"

"Beav-Cassidy. I didn't know." Uh-oh. Heavy subject. He _was_ drunk. But what did he mean he didn't know?

"What do you mean you didn't know? You were there. You know what happened." What the hell was he talking about?

"No not that...the uh, the other...thing."

"The other thing...what other-" she fell silent and swallowed hard. He didn't mean what she thought he meant, did he? He wouldn't meet her eyes.  
_  
Well, crap._

"How did you find out about that, Dick?" she asked slowly and carefully. What had happened wasn't something she'd made public. Only Logan and Mac knew. She didn't tell her dad. She didn't know if that was something she could ever tell him.

"She didn't mean to tell me- she thought I already knew," he said quickly, defending her.

"Mac..." She'd be having a talk with her later.

"You have to know Veronica, I really didn't think he'd do anything- he was sober, or I thought he was, and I was messed up that night and I baited him and teased him and you have to believe me Veronica if I thought he would have actually done anything I wouldn't have…." His rambling trailed off. She looked up at him, and his eyes were starting to glisten a bit more, though she could tell he was trying hard to rein it in.

This was something she couldn't handle right now. She couldn't look him in the eyes and talk about something so personal.

"We are _so_ not having this conversation right now," she told him, and tried to walk past him.

"Veronica, please..." he choked out, stepping in front of her to block her way. She started to turn around, still intent on retreating, but his hand on her arm stopped her. "Veronica, you have to believe me," her eyes went wide when she looked up at him, then quickly away. She was extremely uncomfortable and had no desire to rehash any of this. Not with anyone—let alone Dick.

She turned to the side so she was facing the wall. At least she didn't have to look at him while he talked.

"I didn't mean for that to... You don't have to forgive me. You probably never will- I wouldn't. But you have to know I never meant...I never thought he'd..." He couldn't bring himself to actually say the words.

She tried to keep the emotion off her face, and bit her lip.

"You were an asshole," she said venomously, still not looking at him.

Dick swallowed and looked away from her, ashamed, and looked slightly like he was going to be sick.

Veronica continued. "And the only reason you're still here is because it was Cassidy who did it, not you." Dick knew enough about her to take her completely seriously.

What Veronica said next surprised even herself.

"I don't blame you. At least not for all of it."

He'd been an ass, he'd dated a whore-bitch, and made her life a living hell for two years, but they were both extremely damaged by what had happened.

"That's the best I can do right now."

It wasn't anywhere near a forgive and forget, because he knew that would never be something anyone could ever forget. But it was way more than he was expecting.

Veronica started walking back towards the kitchen, bathroom forgotten, before she turned around abruptly.

"Dick?"

She waited until he raised his head and looked at her.

She gave him her best threatening glare.

"If you hurt her…." She left the threat open, and walked away. She knew he didn't need to ask who she was talking about.  
_I need a drink._

_***_

Mac looked up when she saw a group of people come in from the balcony. Seeing that Dick was the only one out there now made her curious.  
_That's weird_. Aware it might not be the best idea, she went out anyway.

As soon as she stepped outside, she could tell why everyone had left. She could feel the angst rolling off him in waves. Not the quintessential party atmosphere.

He was leaning on the railing, beer can in hand.

Mac didn't say anything, just leaned on the rail beside him.

"She called me an asshole," he said very quietly. Mac had to strain to hear him, but knew immediately who he was talking about.

"That's justifiable, no?" Mac said. She wasn't going to coddle him.

"If I were her, or you, I'd be making my life a living hell. I wouldn't just let it go!" He was getting angry again.

"Dick, you're not that same person. I think Veronica's beginning to see that. I see that."

He turned his head to stare at her, then turned his body and pulled her elbow and moved her so they were face to face.

"Mac I am so sorry. I'm-'

"Stop it. I know. Just _stop_talking about it."

He stared at her for a few more seconds, looking into her eyes, and without thinking, he pulled her to him and kissed her. His lips moved over hers hungrily, and it didn't take long before she was responding. Her arm that he held at the elbow went to his shoulder, and the other grabbed and fisted his shirt at his waist. He took this as eager participation, which it was, and he groaned and moved to pull her in closer.  
Dick's beer can crashed to the ground as his other arm tried to snake around her waist.

The splash and noise effectively snapped Mac back to reality. She drew back quickly, and stepped out of his grasp. She looked at Dick with confusion, surprise, and uncertainty. She hadn't had a drink in about hour or so, so she was as sober as can be now.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just…I can't." She turned and hurried back inside, intent on finding her purse and getting the hell out of there. _What the hell was that?__  
_  
Dick groaned and leaned his head back on the outside of the building. _Perfect_.

"This is not a good idea. This is not slow." Veronica said between kisses.

"I know." Logan stopped and leaned his forehead against hers. He was sitting on the foot of the bed, his feet on the floor, with her straddling his lap. They were both fully clothed.

"Oh God, I don't know if I care." Veronica practically shoved him onto his back on the bed, and kissed him hungrily. Logan was an eager recipient. One hand fisted her shirt while the other traveled up her back.

Veronica groaned and pulled away, conflicted.

"Okay, uh-uh. Either we're doing this or we're not. Stop being all wishy-washy. You're killing me here."

"I know! I'm sorry!" She really was. She really, _really_ was. She flopped over onto her back. "I just…I still think we need to establish our relationship outside of the bedroom before we...dive back in."

He was silent, eyes closed. _What more could they establish? She loved him, he loved her.__  
_  
"You're still okay with that, right?" She rolled back to him, propping her chin on his chest looking up at his face.

"Veronica, whatever you want to do. It's not like I'm gonna go get it elsewhere cause you wanna wait. I like you. I keep you around for other reasons, too. Like your sweet, forgiving nature."

She smacked his chest. "You're lucky I like you too, cause you sound like the biggest horn dog right now. And I sound like the prude little virgin girlfriend." She scrunched her nose.

He chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I know you a little better than to ever accuse you of that." He grabbed her back across him. He ran his hands run under her shirt making circles on her lower back. He nuzzled the spot where her collarbone met her neck.  
_  
Oh God that felt nice. _She whimpered. He was _so_not helping_.__  
_  
She leaned up so she could look down at his face. His eyes were closed, and he looked very happy. So happy that a thought occurred to her. "You know, all they think we do is hump like bunnies anyway. They won't believe me when I deny we did anything." Veronica had told him about the stupid bet, and Logan just found it amusing.

"So what's stopping us, again?" He asked her, his eyes only half open, glazed in desire.

"I will NOT give Dick $50 bucks," she stated adamantly.

"Oh so _that's_ what this is really about!" he accused her half-heartedly. "I'll have to thank him for fueling your fire to resist me." He looked thoughtful. "You know, Veronica… you're like the best liar ever. He'd never know. We could go all night and I'm pretty sure you could convince _me_ it was all a dream in the morning."

"I know," she smiled, giving him a short peck. "But I'd know." This time she really kissed him. If this was all she was getting tonight, she'd have to make it good.

"You get what I mean, though right?" She asked when she finally came up for air.

"Yeah. I just foresee a lot of cold showers in my near future."

"Haha. Not too many. I'm not trying to turn you into a monk."

"Pretty sure that's not possible. Not with you on my mind all the time." He captured her mouth again, his tongue battling hers for dominance.

"Okay. Okay. We need to calm down," She said, rolling over onto her back again. "I think I'm still a little tipsy," she said with a smile. Veronica had had a few beers after talking to Dick. Logan had kept her from getting too far-gone, and he hadn't asked why or what had sparked her sudden need for a drink, but something told him she needed to unwind. She loved him for that.

"No kidding," He said, draping a hand over his eyes. Logan had sobered up significantly, but Veronica was just as intoxicating as any alcohol he'd ever had.

She really didn't want to talk about what had happened earlier in the evening with Dick, but Dick would probably mention it to Logan, then he'd be all upset with her when she didn't tell him about it. She was better off just doing it now.

She sighed, and kept her eyes up towards the ceiling when she spoke.

"So, Dick and I had a talk earlier today."

"Oh yeah? Was it actually a conversation or just you telling him you'd cut his balls off if he hurt Mac?"

Veronica stayed silent, which Logan assumed meant he was right. He chuckled.

"Did you make him shake in his boots?" She was still silent, and Logan raised his eyebrows in question when he looked over and saw the raw emotion on her face. "Veronica?"

He could tell the exact moment her mask was back in place and answered, "He, uh… he apologized for what happened at Shelly's."

At Shelly's. Logan's eyes went wide. _No wonder_ she'd needed a drink.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching for her again. "How did he even find out—wait, Veronica you know I didn't say a word-"

"I know," she reassured him. "It was Mac."

"Mac told him?" He was genuinely surprised.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to…she wouldn't do that. And I think she was trying to warn me earlier, but we got sidetracked."

He sighed and rubbed his hand over his forehead. Logan thought carefully before asking his next question.

"Veronica… _Do_ you blame Dick for what happened?"

She knew she had told Dick she didn't, but she wasn't quite sure she didn't tell him that just to get out of that conversation.

"Honestly? I don't know." He waited for her to continue.

"I don't think so. He's certainly not nor will he ever be my best friend." She paused again. "Dick played a part in what happened, so he's not innocent on any terms, but he didn't do it." Even to her ears that sounded a bit detached.

"I played a part, too," he said quietly.  
_  
God_, this is why she didn't want to bring it up. Veronica inwardly groaned.

"Didn't we already have this conversation like, two years ago? This is why I just want to _not_ talk about it. I'm not repressing my feelings, I don't blame you. I dealt with it. I'm fine. I've moved on. I'm not gonna kill Dick, but I _will_ make him wish he was never born if he does anything to hurt Mac."

"Okay…okay."

They were still lying on their backs, and when Veronica turned her head to look at him, she didn't like that his brow was creased and his mouth was turned down in a frown.

She rolled over to snuggle into his side, reaching her arm across his body, reassuring him they were okay. She didn't blame him for anything. They'd made their peace already.

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer, placing a kiss on the side of her head.

"Did you tell your Dad you'd be home tonight?" he asked.

"I told him I'd probably end up at Mac's."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I really did plan on it, but she must have left cause I didn't see her. Guess I'll just have to stay here with you."

"Hmm… Oh well." He rolled over onto his side and pulled her back to him, spooning her. He really didn't sound that disappointed. She didn't either.

"I have a bag of clothes in my car," she murmured, as neither had changed from their "party" clothes.

"You wanna go get it?" he asked just as quietly.

"Not really."

"You want something else to put on?"

"Maybe later. I don't think I want to move just yet." She snuggled deeper into his side.

Logan's chest vibrated as he made a contented noise.

He was right. This _was_ a perfect way to say goodbye to The Grand. Well, almost perfect.  
_  
Damn my sensibilities._

_

* * *

_

There you go! As always, let me know what you think!

ReviewRevieReview!

-heartulipsia


	10. The Name of the Game

A/N: wow. Look at me! An actual update!

So I don't even know how to apologize for my complete lack of updates…

Imagine me like Chandler in the box. The reason for my absence is three fold…

1. I've had a hard time figuring out where to go with this, so it's been slow going. I will never start a multi-chapter fic again without knowing exactly how it ends and how to get there. But don't worry; I will absolutely not abandon this story because I hate it when stories never get finished. Have no fear, I _will_ finish this, I promise!

2. I've gotten caught up in reading too many other fics (sheepishly ducks her head). I've gotten sucked in to the universe of SVM (started with TrueBlood on tv, which then led to me reading the books, and now besides LoVe- I'm in love with Eric/Sookie). Also…. Since HP's been on my brain lately with the new movie, I just _had_ to reread book7, I had an urge to get back into HP stories (and HP is what got me into the whole fanfic world in the first place!) And that led to…

3. I started working on a HP one-shot (tid bits from the missing 19 years) that's been in my head for AGES. Look for that coming soon.

That being said, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all your reviews and sticking with me! I never really listened to authors talk about how they crave and feed off reviews, but I totally get it now. They really are their own brand of crack I love writing this and I'm glad you're enjoying reading it! And I've hit 100 reviews! When I started writing this I never thought I'd get such a response! It's amazing! Thank you so much for all your comments and by all means, keep 'em coming….

Thank you also to emmettsgirl25 for her betta work on this one! Any mistakes are completely my own!

Now onto the chapter, cause that's why you came here, really. (And I'm sure only about two of you read this HUGE A/N)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately.

* * *

Chapter 10  
The Name of the Game

Sunday turned out to be an extremely lazy day. Neither Veronica nor Logan drank enough to suffer a hangover, but they were still exhausted. They slept until noon, and laid awake in bed for longer, content to wile the day away in each other's company. Veronica was extremely happy that this time waking up in Logan's bed; he was actually there and she wasn't nursing any injuries.

There was only a little nagging in the back of her mind that kept her from that blissfully happy state. Goyra was still quiet. So quiet, in fact, that she thought he must have an immensely boring life. He was always with his two not-so-inconspicuous body guards the few times she'd seen him on campus, and according to the tracker, he still wasn't going anywhere exciting. Unless he got around by jet pack. As this was pretty unlikely, her deduction was that he didn't have much of a social life these days. She wondered if that was by his choice…

She'd been sending the GPS info she'd been collecting to Riley-the-tech-guy, and he'd confirmed there hadn't been any other suspicious activity. God they were boring! Levi had apparently been right when he'd said they'd be lying as low as possible. Thinking of Levi, she hoped he was having more luck than they were. Veronica had of course been "under cover" before and knew how delicate he had to play the situation, but she'd never been in such a high risk situation as this. She knew she'd probably be good at it—hell, it was her element—but she'd never be able to do any good in Neptune. Too many people knew who she was.

Veronica wasn't quite sure that was what she wanted to do though, element or not. Not do good- of course she wanted to do that- but did she want to do in Neptune? Or even with the FBI as a career? She didn't really have the answers to these questions. Being in that deep obviously didn't leave much room for a personal life, and it tended to screw up the one you already had.

Logan could tell Veronica wasn't asleep, and that she was thinking about something serious. Her breathing was uneven, and he could feel her eyelashes flutter against his chest every time she blinked. Rather than call her on it and ask what was on her mind, he let it go. He could probably guess she was stewing over their current situation—worrying about Levi and thinking about Goyra and his delightful relations. He was trying not to comment, content instead to savor the feel of Veronica pressed into his side, her arm hugging his stomach. But he was so in tune to her sounds and subtle movements, it was hard to ignore her seemingly somber mood.

He could tell when she mentally shook her head to refocus, as she sighed and propped herself up on her elbow to look down and smile at him. He stretched up to put a kiss to her forehead.

"So… What are we doing today?" she asked.

"Nothing? This? I'm good with this." He reached up to kiss her again, this time on the lips.

"It's Sunday. We have to be productive."

Logan sunk down into the plush bedding. "Says who?"

"Says the large amount of crap you've got in here that we have to box up and bring over to your house."

Logan just groaned. Veronica had talked him into just boxing the stuff up himself- with her promise of helping and her strategy of getting the essentials over there first, and the rest to be brought over later. It wasn't like he couldn't afford to pay for the few more nights at the hotel, even if he wasn't sleeping there. In all seriousness, he _was_ tempted to still sleep here. At least then he'd be in an actual bed. He was sleeping on an air mattress Veronica lent him until he bought his real bed. He could still sleep at the hotel, but then most of his clothes and toiletries would be at the house… Yeah, it just wasn't worth it, going back and forth so much. And let's face it; he was all for making things easier on himself.

The week passed in a bit of a blur for Veronica. Her professors apparently decided it was time to stop playing around and get down to business, which meant the homework started piling on. Even with all that, she still managed to help Logan a bit with his packing. She grumbled about it, since apparently no one else was around to help.

Dick was in and out of the house the entire week, never really saying a word to either of them, and apparently not too worried about moving any of his stuff. If Veronica hadn't seen his lone box of stuff in the entryway of the new house he'd yet to put away, she wouldn't have known he even lived there. It was weird, but Logan just shrugged it off when she asked, saying they weren't about to sit down and paint each other's nails talking about their problems.

Wallace had helped a bit the first day, but quickly bailed to hang out with his "new girl," and Mac wasn't returning her calls. Veronica had called her Sunday after the party, but Mac had only responded with a text reassuring her she'd gotten home okay. She'd hardly seen her at all since the party.

By the end of the next week, they had living room furniture for the main level and a giant sofa unit for the downstairs "gaming area," but still no bed. This had Veronica extremely confused. He was stalling buying a bed, and she had no idea why. She'd even gone with him to the mattress store, and he'd been as inappropriate and embarrassing with his comments and innuendos as she thought he'd be, but he didn't buy anything. He claimed it had to be perfect, and he'd shop around 'til he found the "right one." He had a bed frame, sure. A nice, normal, not to exciting, slightly modern and masculine frame with a headboard all fit for a California king, but no mattress.

She couldn't for the life of her figure out why he wouldn't just buy one, at least to get off that air mattress. That was also one of the reasons why Veronica hadn't spent the night yet. She had thought knowing that would have hurried him up. It didn't, and she couldn't really bring herself to ask him why. She didn't think it was a bad reason, but apparently there was something extremely personal there, and he'd open up if he wanted to. For now, she saw no harm in humoring him.

They'd also gone grocery shopping for a few essentials. Knowing dick, they'd last maybe a day or two. Her dad had stopped by to check the place out, and Veronica gave him the low down on what upgrades the security company had made when they came on Wednesday. Luckily, being in the business they were, Veronica and her dad "knew" people, so they were getting the best from people they trusted.

Though it'd been pretty uneventful, she'd actually felt it all week. She'd just shaken it off—chalked it up to her perpetually paranoid state of mind. Heh. Say that five times fast…

Someone was following her. She was pretty sure of it. And when she walked across the parking lot Friday afternoon and saw a white piece of paper tucked under her windshield wiper, she was pretty damn sure of it. It didn't look like a flyer for another lame-ass off-campus party or a battle of the bands, which was her first clue. Sending up a silent prayer that her car wouldn't suddenly explode as she walked up to it, she grabbed the note.

Yup. She hadn't been paranoid. There were some things she should really trust her instincts about.

It barely said anything, though. Not even a signature. Just '_Jason's Deli. 4:30.'__  
_  
She looked at her watch. It was 4:20. Jason's Deli was two blocks off campus. Which meant this person knew her schedule well enough to know she could easily make it over there in time.

The question was, was did she _want_ to make it there in time? Oh boy….. di-lemma. She looked around the parking lot, but of course found nothing suspicious. Did she call Logan or her Dad for backup? Jason's Deli _was_ a public place… What could anyone do to her in there? Poison her Big Joe sandwich? Mmm…her mouth watered. Damn that was a good sandwich. And she was hungry. And Logan _lived_ for their Sergeant Pepper Po'Boy. So really, it couldn't hurt to go scope out the place, right? And hey, maybe the note wasn't meant for her car and somebody made a mistake. In that case, she'd just grab their sandwiches and take them over to his place. She was supposed to go over after her class was out anyway.

Okay. She'd be careful. She double-checked that her trusty Mr. Sparky was in the front pocket of her bag and easily accessible. She'd just be extremely cautious.

Even though it was a quick five-minute walk, she drove. Not only would it make for a quicker escape if necessary, but if something even worse happened, they'd at least know the last place she'd been if her car was abandoned in the parking lot.

Wonderful. What a happy thought. She prayed she wouldn't get a repeat of her fun excursion last time she went out for food. Her shoulder still ached a bit.

It probably wasn't a good sign she kept throwing out silent prayers. She didn't even go to church, so God only knew if anyone up there was even listening...

It was too late to back out now though, cause she was pulling into the parking lot.

Veronica scanned the cars, but nothing seemed to jump out at her as out of place. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside, stopping right at the entrance to scan the occupants of the deli. She could easily back right out if she needed to.

She was scanning so quickly she almost missed him. Her eyes snapped back to his so fast she almost made herself dizzy.  
_  
Crap.__  
_  
She watched him with her eyebrows raised as he got up from the little table in the back and walked up to her.

"Ms. Mars. So lovely you could make it."

"What do you want?" She cut right to the chase.

He stared her down for a few seconds, before the overconfident smirk left his face. It almost threw her off.

"I have some information you and your friends will find interesting."

Her _friends_? Just what _friends_ was he talking about? And what did he know?

"I'll bet you do." She walked up to the counter, and turned back to him, eyebrows raised, when he didn't follow her. "You're buyin', Weidman." There was no way she was going to see what he wanted without compensation.

***  
She had sent Logan a text saying she'd be a little late. She hadn't said why, 'cause she knew he'd be pissed at her if she told him exactly what was keeping her, but she didn't want to lie to him either.

Clarence had been extremely cryptic, only telling her he knew something about some pesky little Russians and their "recreational activities." (His words—not hers.) God he was annoying.

She pressed for details, but of course he wouldn't say anything. He just watched her eat her sandwich.

"Why would you think I could do anything about whatever important information you claim to have?"

"Because I know you Mars. Your nose is always stuck where it doesn't belong."

She just glared at him. _And you've been following me all week, jerk wad_, she added silently.

"And what are you expecting to get in return for whatever you give up?" He didn't say anything, and a thought occurred to her. "Or is it Jake with the info? And you're just his little messenger?" By the scowl that appeared on his face, that was exactly the case. She wanted to laugh at him, but the fact was, she was intrigued.

"I'm not going to talk to you, Mars, when I know you can't give me anything."

"Wait, you were the one who wanted this little meeting." She smiled again, when she caught on. "Oh I see! Is this when you throw up your little white flag and say 'take me to your leader'? 'Cause I gotta say Clarence, I'm a little disappointed. Not really your style."

"We're hardly on opposing teams, Mars. In fact, considering what we expect in return, I'd say we're on the same side."

Now that caught her attention. Clarence and Veronica working together to save mankind? Not likely. What could he—or Jake—possibly want that she would too?

Her eyes snapped back to his as soon as it clicked.  
_  
Of course_. How could she not have seen it as soon as she saw who was waiting for her?

All this for Duncan. Jake would do _anything_ for his kids; she knew that, at least.

She looked at Weidman with a question in her eyes, and when he smiled, knowing he'd caught her attention, she knew she was right.

But it couldn't be that easy, could it? She'd be lying if she said she didn't want Duncan to come home, though. Her heart sped up at the possibility. It didn't matter she wasn't still in love with him. She loved him once, and he'd always be her friend, no matter where in the world he was. And Lily. She'd be what? Two or three now? Veronica didn't have to guess she'd already be a heartbreaker.

She would never feel sympathy for Jake Kane, but she could imagine the pain he felt at losing both his children. Suddenly she wasn't quite so hungry anymore.

She wrapped up what was left of her sandwich, grabbed the bag with Logan's in it, and stood up.  
"Let's go," she said.

There was a voice in the back of her head screaming at her that this was a really bad idea, taking Weidman to their safe house, but when she called Booth, that's where he told her to bring him. She had told him she had a lead—a witness even, who wanted to talk to him. He had questioned her, and wasn't happy when she didn't have all the answers. But she made sure to tell him what she did know. That Clarence Weidman was a slippery, arrogant ass, and would do just about anything for the Kane family, without taking the law under consideration. _And_ that he unfortunately (or fortunately, she had yet to decide) knew what he was talking about when it came to the shady circles of Neptune. Still, she felt like they were taking a chance.

What she really wanted to do was throw a bag over his head and lock him in the trunk, but she didn't think she could lift or maneuver him. Unless of course she tazered him and pushed him in all in one swift motion. Wishful thinking. She sighed and looked in the rearview mirror. He was definitely still following.

Pulling into a parking space at the "safe" condo, she saw her both her dad's and Logan's car. Booth had called apparently called them in for this little meeting. She didn't say anything to Weidman when she got out of the car, just waited for him to come to her, before leading him up the stairs to the door.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Veronica said as she walked in, and Clarence stepped in behind her.

No one looked too happy to see either of them. Clarence she could understand (because come on, it was Clarence).

But her dad had that "Veronica you've been keeping things from me again and I'm disappointed" look on his face, and Logan's looked frighteningly identical. That wasn't good. Riley sat in the background at the computer, thankfully unaccusing. At least _someone_didn't want to yell at her. He gave her a small smile in greeting.

"This is what you meant by a little late?" Logan asked, clearly not sounding happy.

"Okay...stop looking at me like that. All of you. He came to me—left a stupid note on my car. I had nothing to do with it. And I called Booth. I was responsible," she defended.

"Was that before or after you talked to him?" Veronica stared at Logan, not really knowing what to say. She _knew_Clarence would only cause trouble for her.

"Veronica what on Earth possessed you—" Keith started, sounding like he was joining Logan in reprimanding her, but she cut him off.

"He knows stuff. I'm fine, everything's fine. He's seedy and slimy, I know, but he _knows_ things, okay?" Clarence's eyes narrowed at her back.

"All right—not the time for this," Booth silenced them. "Clarence Weidman?" Booth asked, to which Clarence nodded once, "I'm Agent Booth. I hear you have some information to share."

Veronica went over to the couch to sit by Logan. She handed him the bag with his food in it, smiling hopefully. It was as good a peace offering as any. "Po' Boy?"

He took it from her, but his glare stayed. Veronica sighed and rolled her eyes. Great. She _so_ didn't want to have it out with him again.

"Mr. Weidman?" Booth gestured to the love seat, indicating he should sit. Eyeing the space next to Keith like he would catch something unforgivable if he touched it, he sneered and remained standing.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. My client isn't willing to share any information until you can guarantee him what he wants."

Veronica began nervously bouncing her leg.

"And your client being…?"

Logan snorted. They all knew what was coming. Even Booth didn't look surprised when he answered, "Jake Kane."

"And just what, exactly, is it that Mr. Kane wants that he thinks we can provide?"

Logan clamped a hand down on the top of her thigh to stop it from bouncing against his. Veronica didn't take her eyes off Weidman, though, willing him to say what he hadn't acknowledged out loud to her at the Deli.

"All charges dropped on his son Duncan Kane, and allowing Duncan custody to his daughter, a Miss Lily Manning-Kane." Veronica's leg started bouncing again, and Logan squeezed it a second time, more so in trying to get a reaction out of her. He looked at her, but she didn't return his gaze. Veronica had obviously known about this beforehand, judging by her antsy energy.

Logan wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The information he'd just learned, and Veronica's reaction to it as well.

Duncan. _Duncan _could be coming home. His best-friend. Veronica's... everything. He didn't know whether to feel elated or apprehensive and nervous and uneasy.  
He was trying to keep his chest from restricting to keep him from a panic, so apparently he was leaning more towards the latter. He removed his hand from her thigh, but he didn't think she noticed, transfixed as she was on the words coming out of Weidman's mouth. That didn't make him feel better either. He remained silent.

"The kidnapping case?" Booth asked incredulously. "You expect me to get charges dropped on a federal kidnapping case?"

Weidman looked at him unimpressed. "Those are the terms. Ask Ms. Mars here, if you're unfamiliar with the details. She knows more about the case than anyone, I'm sure." Veronica glared at him, and Booth gave her a rather tight and annoyed look.

"Clarence, you of all people know how this works. _Jake_ knows how this works. We can't promise you anything until we know what you have to tell us is worth while," Keith said.

"We?" Clarence asked, looking at Keith with a feigned questioning look. "I was under the impression you weren't the Sheriff anymore, Mars, let alone a federal agent. What could _you_ possibly promise me that I could believe?"

"He's right, though, and you know it," Veronica snapped at him.

"You've got to give me something, Weidman. I can't go on nothing," Booth told him.

They had a bit of a staring contest, before Weidman reluctantly said, "We have recovered audio from a recently destroyed video file," he narrowed his eyes in Keith's direction, "linking the Sorokin family and the Fitzpatricks to a number of, let's say... unlawful...activities."

Veronica tensed. She _knew _it was the hard drive. And if the Fitzpatrick's were mentioned on there too, then there was something else on there she hadn't seen or heard. Yet.

Booth and Weidman stared at each other.

Logan stared at his hands. He wasn't really concerned with this new information. He was still stuck on Duncan coming home. His brain kept throwing out scenario after scenario, all ending with Veronica throwing herself into his arms.

"This can't happen over night, you're aware of this?" Booth finally said.

"Well I suggest you get on that rather quickly, before your window of opportunity closes," Clarence said rather cryptically.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Veronica asked.

A look passed between Booth and her dad, and they both clearly knew what Weidman was talking about. And Veronica didn't. She stood up, annoyed at being left out of the loop. Her dad knew something—something that he hadn't told her. "What's going on?" she asked again.

Booth didn't look at all happy that Weidman had whatever knowledge he seemed to possess.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, rubbing a hand down his face, clearly trying to think quickly. "Alright. Fine. Riley? Have Thomas pick up Kane. He should be nearby. We're gonna have a little chat with him." Riley immediately pulled out his cell phone.

"Um, hello? What the hell is happening?" Veronica asked again. They were watching the Kane house? Since when? And why didn't she know about that?

"What's happening is you're all going home, before Mr. Kane gets here," Booth told all three of them.

"Are you kidding me? I wanna hear what he has to say!" Veronica wasn't having it.

"I know you do. But you're leaving. We can't take the chance that he's followed here and you're all seen together. "

"But what about Duncan? What can you do?" Veronica wasn't all that sure what exactly he _had_ the authority to do. _Someone_had the authority to bring him back, and she wanted to know how that was going to happen. But Booth just stared at her, a no-nonsense look on his face, telling her he wasn't going to change his mind.

"But I brought him in! He came to me!" she said, pointing at Weidman. Veronica didn't care how childish she sounded. She was two seconds away from stamping her foot. This was important. And it wasn't fair. Wasn't she the one who started this whole thing? And now what? They start keeping her in the dark, instead working with her dad? She knew her dad was more than capable, but it was certainly the principle of the thing!

And the fact that Weidman was smirking angered her even more.

"Yes, and thank you for following protocol. Now I'll handle it from here. You'll know soon enough."

"Veronica, let's go." Keith knew Booth was right. They couldn't take any risks if this information really was going to be key to helping them.

Veronica stared at her father, then looked down at Logan, who was still sitting on the couch, not looking at anyone. This confused her. Why wasn't he as pissed as she was? He should want Duncan back just as much as she did, right? There was a nagging thought in the back of her head that he wasn't going to take this whole situation well. _Crap_.

Keith ushered them both outside. Veronica's mind was back on the hard drive.

"I _knew _Jake knew things!" she exclaimed. "But just an audio track? Who does he think he's kidding? There's no way they don't have video. If they've got audio, I'll bet you a gazillion dollars they've just extracted it so they don't have to show you one of their precious Castle members stripped down and tied to a chair wearing a dog collar." Keith and Logan followed Veronica down the stairs into the parking lot. Keith just let her rant. "If you were Jake, what's the first thing you'd do if you had sensitive and damning information like that? Make a back-up, that's what!"

"I'm aware of that, Veronica. But we'll see what Booth can get out of Jake. The audio might be enough. And if it isn't, he won't get what he wants."

"But Clarence should know that too, so they've got to have _access_ to the back-up. Able to recover audio my ass," she muttered. "He's got a back-up. But where...?"

"Bank?" Logan finally spoke up. Veronica looked at him curiously.

"Like a... safety deposit box? That's...possible."

"But good luck finding it. He'd be stupid to have it here in Neptune. Jake's always been tight about his money, you know that. He's probably got his fortune stashed all around the world. The Caymans, Switzerland, Singapore..."

Her eyes were big. Veronica never grasped just how much the Kane's were actually worth. She knew it was some astronomical amount she couldn't really comprehend, but she never really cared.

"Singapore? Really?"

"Yeah. It's where most of our money was. Is, I guess. A lot of it's still there..." he trailed off.

"So what you're telling me, is that our only way of taking these guys down, is hiding somewhere around the world under the best security money can buy. Wonderful."

"Maybe. Or maybe he's got it stashed at Kane Software. He's got security as tight as a Vegas casino, he could have a vault 200 feet underground for all we know."

"Urgh!" Veronica exclaimed. "This is so frustrating!"

"We're taking down two criminal rings. You might have to let crucifying Jake go, Veronica," Keith told her begrudgingly.

"It's just his stupid little elitist group! Buying their way into and out of everything! Putting people in power, taking the good ones out of power! It's corrupt! And it _really_ pisses me off."

"Okay, well one thing at a time, yeah? For now? If word gets out he's giving up any of his information, he'll be in enough trouble. No matter how high up on the wrung he is, I doubt the rest of his little club will be too happy to know how willing he is to give up their club secrets."

"Even if he is doing all this to bring Duncan back, it's still shady," Veronica complained. "And you _know_ he'll give us as little as possible to get what he wants."

Logan almost opened his mouth, but thought better of it. He wasn't going to point out that she probably would have done the exact same thing—that Jake was just big into self-preservation. Veronica had a bit of that streak in her as well.

"And don't think I didn't see that look you gave Booth- you know something I don't know," she accused him.

Keith sighed. "Not here, Veronica. Are you coming home?"

"After dinner. Unfortunately my criminology professor doesn't cater to my extra curricular activities. I've got two papers to write this weekend."

"And you'll actually be getting your homework done at Logan's?" Keith asked, unbelievingly.

Logan tried not to let his surprise show. He thought after this new development she'd think of nothing else, but apparently she was still coming over like they had planned. And originally, he hadn't planned to do much studying.

"Yes, Daddy," Veronica said, and rolled her eyes. "I'll call if I'm late."

"You do that."

"So I'll fol...low...you..." Veronica turned around to talk to Logan, but trailed off as he'd already walked away to his car a few rows over. He was acting weird. Veronica didn't know what to make of it, but she knew whatever was bothering him would come out soon enough. She hoped it was sooner rather than later, though. A passive aggressive Logan was no fun for anyone.

He at least waited for her to follow him through the gates of the drive and then the house, so that was a good sign. He wasn't running away from her, anyway.

When they parked in the drive, Logan grabbed her hand as they walked inside. The gesture would have been natural under any other circumstances, but he still wasn't really looking at her. Her mind was partly still ticking away on the Kane situation, and she had to struggle to push those thoughts back. Apparently there was something wrong here she had to attend to first.

Veronica walked into the kitchen, looking for some food, and to give herself something to do before they started fighting. Yes, fighting. Hopefully just arguing- which she considered different and less harsh than fighting. Whichever it was, she knew it was coming. When Logan was this quiet, it meant there was a storm brewing.

"I want me some nachos." Her adrenaline from the afternoon's events was still pumping through her veins, and she was actually hungry again. Not surprising.  
Logan leaned against the counter, watching her. Veronica opened the fridge, and found it pretty much empty.

"What the crap, Logan! I thought you said you were going to the grocery store today! What are we supposed to-" she turned around, only to be cut off and pushed up against the fridge as Logan attacked her mouth.

He kissed her like he was drowning, and she was his air supply.

"Logan," she tried to speak in between kisses, "what-?" but he wouldn't let her.

He was desperate. He needed to feel her, to kiss her, to make sure she was here, in his house, under his hands, and still _his_.

All right, so maybe this _was_ a reaction to the whole Duncan thing, but right now, Logan didn't care. He just knew that he loved Veronica with everything he had in him—he would do anything for her, to keep her—and he needed to make sure she knew that. And this was the best way he knew how to show her.

Veronica would have preferred not to rekindle their sex life in the kitchen, but it was really hard to think when Logan lifted her up onto the counter and his hands were everywhere all at once. Caressing her legs, wrapping around to squeeze her backside, then up and under her shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him close, returning his fervor.

"Couch," she managed to say between the onslaught of his mouth. She could at least remember he didn't have a bed in his room, so she'd really prefer a couch to the floor. He picked her up and her legs immediately wrapped around his waist. He stumbled with her into the living room, never once breaking his mouth away from hers, sucking and nipping in the way she hadn't ever been able to forget, even in the months they were apart.

She didn't really want to think about why he felt so desperate.

He all but fell on top of her when they got to the couch. His mouth traveled around her chin, up her neck, and back down where her collarbone met the hollow of her neck. She arched against him, pressing herself as closely as she possibly could, wrapping her legs back around his waist, rubbing against the growing bulge in his pants. The friction drew a growl deep from Logan's throat, and he pressed himself into her, aching for more. She responded with a moan of her own, and took his earlobe between her teeth, pulling and biting gently.

He pulled her up and began to push her shirt up so he could pull it off, when—

"Ah, man! Why didn't you tell me you were going to want to christen every room of the house? I'd never say no to a free show!" Dick stood smirking at the top of the stairs that led down to the basement. He'd apparently been home, and neither of them knew it.

Veronica hastily pushed her shirt down and sat back down on the couch, smoothing out her hair. She cleared her throat, and wouldn't meet Dick's gleeful eyes.

Logan stayed on his knees, wishing will all his might he could set Dick on fire with his mind.

Looking for anything to do, as Dick was still standing there, Veronica reached for the glass of water on the table in front of her and took a drink.

"You know, maybe we need to sweeten the pot a bit. Double or nothing on when he knocks you up and daddy gets out his shotgun for a wedding? 'Cause it's bound to happen soon," Dick said with a smirk, and then laughed out loud when Veronica sprayed her water out of her mouth, choking.

"Huh. I guess those rumors really were false, Ronnie. They all said you swallowed like a pro." Veronica looked up and glared at him. Something had obviously happened to get Dick's panties extremely and uncomfortably wound in a tight bunch. Up until now, he'd had been less of an asshole to her than usual. He hadn't mentioned the conversation they'd had the previous weekend, which was one hundred percent fine by her. She was sure he actually remembered having it, because things had been a bit better between them. But maybe that was because he'd hardly said two words to either of them whenever he was coming or going. He barely acknowledged even Logan. Veronica had been planning on asking Logan again if he knew what was up with him, but now, she really couldn't care less.

"Get out of here Dick," Veronica spat at him, her embarrassment gone.

"Hey, this is my house too- you don't even pay to spend your time here. But lucky for you, I'm leaving anyway. Wipe up wherever you leave a mess, okay? I don't want to catch anything." Veronica rolled her eyes at him when he walked out, and looked up at Logan, ready with a sarcastic remark to thank him for sticking up for her. But it fell short on her tongue, because he was staring at her like he'd barely heard anything Dick said. It threw her off guard, because she couldn't read his expression.

"What?" she asked.

"Does it really bother you that much?" he asked quietly.

"What? Dick being an asshole? Of course not—I'm used to it by now."

"No. The...future. You know. Kids and stuff."

"What?" she laughed uneasily, "You buy a house and suddenly you want to fill it full of munchkins?"

His expression didn't change, and looking closely, she could read the sadness in his eyes. She was taken aback. He was serious.

He didn't say anything else, so she added, "I, uh... just think it's a little premature to be thinking about all that, don't you?"

The slight widening of his eyes and the brief flash of anger was almost gone before she saw it.  
_  
Premature_? Was she kidding? Did she mean _any_ of that crap she said to him then? The long haul?

"Logan…." she said cautiously.

"Did you mean _any_ of it then?" He sounded bitter, and was working himself up.

"Any of what?" she asked warily.

"That you're in it for the long haul? That there's nobody else for you? That I'm _it_? What? Were you just telling me what I wanted to hear?"

Okay, now that kind of pissed her off. He _knew_how hard it was for her to say all that. She narrowed her eyes. "Don't even go there. You know I did."

"Then how is talking about the future premature?" he yelled, desperately. "Why is saying I'm a part of it freaking you out so much?"

"It's not that! My happily ever after was when I came home and we got back on track. That was as far as my future got. And it's good now! We were doing good! For the love of _God_, why on Earth would we complicate it now by talking about marriage? Are you kidding me?"

"That's pretty much what happily ever after, 'the end', usually means, Veronica!"

"Why?" she asked, just as loud, and almost as desperately. "Why does being happy have to end with marriage? It's not an absolute to happiness. Just look at _our _families! I never want that to happen to me again!"

"So it's still self-preservation with you? Always gotta have an exit lane just in case I screw things up, is that right?"

"No that's not what I'm saying! Would you calm down! I'm just saying we're not even 21 yet and I wanna be young for a while and not think about pre-nups and popping out 27 kids!"

"You know a few years ago I'm sure that's exactly what you thought about for your future," he said bitterly.

"Yeah, sure, when I was 16 years old! And then my entire world got ripped apart and turned upside down! I think you know I've changed a bit since then!"

He tried to hold it in, but he couldn't stop himself. It was right there, hanging on the edge of his tongue, waiting to burst out. "Or maybe it just didn't freak you out as much 'cause you were with Duncan," he muttered. He said it quietly, not really sure if he meant for her to hear it or not, but she did.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Her voice was low and deadly. She'd been waiting for Duncan to come up, as he hadn't said a word about him.

_Shit_. Logan almost wished he could take it back, but it was too late now. He apparently needed to put it out there to see how she would react. He didn't say anything else. He couldn't _think_of anything to say, so he just returned her glare.

The minute she and Logan got together the very first time, she knew Duncan would be somewhat of an issue in their relationship, and she really thought they could deal with it—that they could talk it through rationally and stem any fears and insecurities (especially now, since they were being all "adult" like). But hearing him accuse her like that... now she was just pissed.

"I _knew_ that's what this was about. Duncan coming home." He didn't say anything, which confirmed it.

"Well first off, we don't even know if that's happening yet—"

"Oh like you won't do everything in your power to make it happen," he exploded. "You were practically bouncing on the couch when Weidman was talking about bringing him home."

"I was not bouncing," she snapped.

"I said practically," he snapped right back.

"God Logan, what the hell is wrong with you! It's Duncan! _Duncan_. He was your best friend!"

"Exactly! Was! Past tense! He all but hangs me out to dry when I need him the most, steals my girl and leaves without even saying goodbye? What kind of _friend_ does _that_? And I'm supposed to be happy for him to come home? Is that what I'm supposed to be thinking? That my supposed best friend and my girlfriend's 'first love'," he air quoted, "will come home and my life will magically get _better_?"

She didn't appreciate the air quotes and his mocking tone. He was apparently more hurt than she thought last year by Duncan's abrupt departure, so she tried really hard not to blow up at him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I don't know what the hell you're thinking right now, but if you're mad at Duncan then fine. Be mad at Duncan, and work it out if he comes home. Don't take it out on me. And steals your girl? Really? If that's the logic you're going by then you kinda did it to him first."

"Well I didn't really have to compete with him then since he was _out of the country_." He feigned thoughtfulness, putting a finger to his chin. "Oh look. Same thing."

Veronica froze. _Oh no he didn't_.

"You think I'm not gonna run off with him as soon as he steps foot in Neptune? Is that was you think?"

"Happened before." Logan was stone faced.

Veronica stopped and closed her eyes. "Oh my God—I thought _I_ was the one with the trust issues here. Did we suddenly switch personalities? Should I go find someone to beat up now?"

"Oh don't even TRY to put yourself in my shoes! You are the _only_ person in my life I have ever cared about that much. No one has EVER meant as much to me as you do. _No one_."

_Not even Lilly_.

The words hung in the air as if he'd said them, and Veronica was momentarily stunned. The angry tone and the finger he was basically shoving in her face prevented her from being as effected by them as she would have otherwise been. "And I _know_ how much you and Duncan meant to each other," he finished.

Oh my _God_ she wanted to scream at him.

"Meant! I don't know how else to say it! I really don't! He's always gonna be my friend, and if he's in the country, then yes! I'm gonna want him in my life. Argh! I thought we were good! I thought we were done with the doubt and stupid insecurities!"

"So did I! But then you start hyperventilating and spit water all over the place at just the _thought _of actually spending your life with me! And then we throw Duncan back in the mix, so yeah! Things are obviously not as resolved as we thought!"

"Well I'm sorry if my happiness over a friend coming home bothers you! But Duncan will always be a part of my life! And when you get your head out of your ass you'll realize nothing about that is threatening to you! I can't do anything more about your stupid insecurities! Duncan's not here! He's not the knight in shining armor. I don't think I'll ever have one of those cause you're sure as hell not acting like one!" She was trying so hard not to start flinging insults and sarcastic comments. It'd just start a verbal war. She wouldn't do it.

"Oh yeah, _that_ really sooths my insecurities."

"Argh! I forgot how much of a jealous ass you can be!" Except that one.

She grabbed her bag from behind the couch and started towards the door.

"Where are you going? Veronica! What happened to no running?" He followed her and slammed it shut when she tried to pull it open.

"This isn't running," she spun around and spat at him. "This is me storming out, because I'm so mad I can't even see straight." She opened the door again and turned around. "I'm going home before one of us says something we can't take back."

He winced when she slammed the door.

* * *

Guess what? I've got about 80% of the next chapter written! Which means you won't have to wait months on end for it! But I do have a question…. Send me a review and let me know:

**What should I do with Vinnie? Is he ultimately just a (sleazy) good guy, or actually evil at heart?**

Send me a review and let me know…

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Tell me either way and ReviewReviewReview!

PS- Keep a look out for my soon to be posted HP fic! It'll be called Announcements.

Oh. Is _that_ what they call a shameless plug? Huh.


	11. I Just Wanna Be Mad

A/N: I am not worthy of all the responses I've been getting, especially since I am the worst updater in the history of the world! Seriously though, I'm so happy (and quite baffled) that I'm still getting such great responses! Last chapter was pretty heavy on the plot development, so I decided I'd just give you what I have now (even though it might be a bit shorter than normal) and save the other stuff for the next chapter. It's what was giving me a hard time and keeping me from updating anyway…. It'll work fine in the next chapter.

BTW, this is un-beta'd cause im just as impatient as you in getting stuff uploaded, so any mistakes are my own! Hope you still enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am a sad, working stiff who owns nothing of what she writes; otherwise I'd not be a sad, working stiff…

* * *

Chapter 11  
I Just Wanna Be Mad

Veronica was by nature nosy and controlling—she hated being kept in the dark about things. This was why there was still a small portion of her brain that was dedicated to worrying and waiting to hear news from Booth.

The other, oh… 95% or her brain was still replaying her fight with Logan. Over and over.

Veronica was hiding in her room, lying in her bed. She'd had a horrible night's sleep, and was in desperate need of a distraction. She picked up her phone.

"Howdy stranger! Fancy a mosey along the beach?"

"Hello to you too," Wallace replied sarcastically.

"You busy?"

"Not particularly." He shut the calculus book on his desk, welcoming the interruption.

"Awesome. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Wallace, ever keen observer that he was, sensed a slight desperate urgency in her voice.

"You okay?"

She hesitated. She was only partly okay.

First off, her dad was really getting on her nerves. She _really_ wanted to get out of the house. She couldn't handle the stares and silent questioning looks anymore (also a reason as to why she was still hiding). When she'd actually come home last night long before she said she would, Keith was suspicious, and her curt explanation that she had too much to do didn't placate him. He could sense how tense and unfocused she was, but Veronica didn't want to talk about it with him. Not when only a few weeks ago she'd told him how adult and mature they were being about their relationship.

She was partly troubled because she kept second guessing if she handled their fight the way she should have. Should she have left before they worked it all out? Or was leaving before things were irreparable the adult way to do it? When they were both prone to yelling and unnecessary name-calling?

Yes. It was. It wasn't like she was running from the situation. She was just giving them both a chance to cool down and think, and they'd discuss things in a calm and mature fashion when they could.

Logan was not someone she was willing to lose, and it sucked having to work at it, but she would do anything it took this time around.

What scared her, was that Logan scared her. Either he didn't trust her to know she loved him, or he didn't believe in himself enough to think he was worthy of it after all they'd been through. Or both. She didn't know which was worse. She could work on the first one, but the second one? That was more of a personal demon- one that hopefully could be helped by fixing their first problem.

Why, oh why, were their lives such a soap opera?

"Veronica?" Wallace's voice snapped her back.

She just sighed into her phone. _Was_ she okay? "Kinda. See you in a few."

***  
After the third time Veronica launched the ball down the beach with a ferocity Wallace seldom saw from her, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there a reason for all this pent up anger, or did you just bring me out here to impress me with your skills?"

Veronica gave him a tight smile. "BFF time? We haven't hung out just the two of us in a while, that's all."

"I know. You've been busy. It's all good. I know Echolls needs a lot of attention or he starts feeling neglected," he teased.

When he mentioned Logan's name, Veronica's lips pinched together.

"Oh no. Tell me you didn't break up again. Please _God_ don't tell me that."

"Nope- just a fight. A pretty big one, though."

"About what?"

"What do we always fight about?" she sounded tired.  
_  
Everything?_ Wallace wanted to say, but wisely kept his mouth shut. She didn't look like she was in the mood to appreciate any humor regarding their on again off again Ross and Rachel romance. "What was it this time?"

"The past. His, mine. The future… stuff we've been over, like, a _million_ times. Or at least it feels like we have."

Veronica didn't really want to get specific. She knew Wallace _had_ to be sick of her Logan/Duncan drama. And he was a guy. He probably didn't want to hear the woes of her love life. Especially when he'd heard it all before. Multiple times.

Besides, she wanted to not think about it for a while. At least for like… half an hour.

Wallace frowned at her. She seemed upset, but not in the usual way when he'd known she'd fought or broken up with Logan.

"So you're just…fighting. Not broken up." Her head jerked up from where she'd been digging a hole in the sand with her foot.

"What? No! I didn't say that!"

"Well hey- that's different from your usual pattern, no?"

Veronica stared at him blankly. It was her '_you better have a point_' face.

"Well, in high school you'd have broken up after a big fight, yeah? And you're not. You're just fighting- which is really kind of normal for you guys, right?"

"Yeah, I guess… " she said reluctantly.

"So you're just a couple that can fight, but stays together. That's good, right? Very progressive of you," Wallace tried desperately to put a positive spin on it, and he patted her back.

Veronica rolled her eyes at him, but honestly…. He was right. There were still lots of things to say, but neither one of them had given the other an ultimatum or said anything about breaking up. Ironically, the fight had started talking about their future- one that Logan had wanted with her.

She wanted one with him too, of course, hers was just a little more vague and open to interpretation.

But of course he was in it. Of _course_ he was. Since the second her lips touched his at the Camelot, he'd been there in the back of her mind, no matter if they were together or not. Her fate was sealed.

"Huh. I guess you're right." She smiled brightly at him. "Look at you, all with the making me feel better!"

"That's what I'm here for, right? Solving all your complicated problems? The girly movies and nail painting? Yeah, that you'll have to go to Mac for."

"She'll be so thrilled," she smiled. "But I can live with that." She threw her arm around his shoulders.

"So. Tell me about your new honey. What's her name? Natalie?" Wallace had been hanging out all week with one of the girls he'd met at the Grand the past weekend, but Veronica hadn't heard much about her.

"Yeah." Wallace smiled and started to blush faintly,

"Oh my God, Wallace, look at you all blushin'! You're crushin'!" She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Shut up." But he was still smiling.

"So what's she like? Does she have a brain or is she just pretty to look at?"

"Both actually," he said smugly. "She's on the soccer team, and she's pre-med applying for nursing school."

"Oh boy…." Veronica teased, "Wait a minute... please tell me that's why you started surfing! You're trying to live more dangerously so she can lick your wounds?"

"You know what, maybe you _are_ spending too much time with Logan, you're starting to sound like him."

"Oh, shut up." She punched his arm.

"See? And more violent too."

"Let's go lover boy. Gotta keep you in shape if your gonna keep up with a soccer babe." She grabbed the leash and took off down the sand, Back-Up running on her heels. Wallace rolled his eyes, but followed her. She had a point.

After another hour or so walking around, Veronica was on her way back home, and she decided Wallace was onto something. She barely let Mac say hello.

"It is your role and duty as female best friend to provide me with ice cream and commence in girl talk. Prepare yourself." Veronica said.

"Hello to you too, Veronica."

"Girl talk. You ready for it?" she repeated.

"Uh-oh...Logan?"

Veronica sighed. "What else?" A bit of girl time would do her good. Her toenails could use a bit of retouching, and she could vent. And Mac could give her another perspective and be truthful- she wouldn't just tell her she was right.

"Provisions?" Mac asked.

"Got any Phish Food?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"You're amazing."

"So they tell me. See you in a bit."

* * *

Logan was in the kitchen, unloading groceries and stocking the fridge when Dick walked in. He stared at Logan, confused.

"Where's Veronica? Isn't she like, our personal shopper?"

"Don't know. At home, I suppose." At his nonchalant tone, Dick froze.

"O-o-o-h no. Not again. Please tell me she didn't drop you on your ass again." Dick dropped to his knees, throwing his hands up in the air, dramatically crying out.

"We just had a fight, that's all."

"Gotta tell you man…" Dick stood back up and shook his head.

"It was just a fight," Logan said again tightly.

"Then by all means, go say you're sorry. Before it turns into something bigger and you can't fix it and you get all mopey. I mean it, dude. You'll turn into a zombie again. You didn't want to go _anywhere_ last time, and it cramped the hell out of my style," he muttered.

"Well I'm so sorry if my relationship problems keep you from getting laid, but that's your problem not mine. And what the hell is wrong with you anyway?" Logan turned on him. "You've been dragging your feet around all week."

Logan didn't really want to get into a fight with him too, but Dick didn't really seem to care that he was pushing all his buttons.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You went to every single one of your classes last week. I even saw a library book on the table."

"So?" He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"The library, Dick? Sorry man, but I've known you for years and you've never shown any interest in the Dewey Decimal system."

"The who?"

"Exactly."

Dick scowled at him, annoyed.

"Who is she?" Logan asked.

"Who?"

"The girl you're going to the library for. Mac?"

"Mind your own business," he said, digging through the bags on the counter.

Logan barked out a laugh. "Really? When you're always all up in my face about Veronica? What happened?"

"I said mind your own damn business," Dick snapped, getting more defensive.

"You better figure out what you're doing—for her sake and yours. It's gonna drive you crazy. If you don't know where you stand. Believe me."

"Relationship advice? Really, dude?"

"I'm just sayin'" Logan rolled his eyes, letting the jab roll off his shoulders. "Figure it out. But don't be all…. You know…._you_ with her."

Dick just rolled his eyes and grabbed a bag of chips and walked back out of the kitchen. If Dick did anything to mess with Mac…that was another thing Veronica would be mad at him for.

He sighed again. Veronica had only left—Logan looked at his watch—17 hours ago, but she had been on his mind every single second of them. He couldn't _believe_ them. Two weeks they'd been back together, and they were fighting already.

All right, maybe he could believe it. They fought. It's what they did. And considering the baggage they carried…. not at all unusual or surprising.

When it came right down to who was right and who was wrong…. He didn't really know. They were both wrong, and they were both right. Honestly? She really couldn't blame him for not being excited about Duncan coming home. Not with what happened last time. But maybe he shouldn't have accused and assumed she'd go right back to him. At least not out loud. Yeah, that was stupid.

But she was acting a little too excited for him to be completely placated.

* * *

"Hey," Mac said, letting Veronica in.

"Hey." Veronica plopped herself down on Mac's bed. It was almost completely covered with open textbooks and notebooks she had to push out of the way. Mac was apparently having a study party.

"You've been pretty incognito this week. Any particular reason?"

"Wait, are we talking about me or bitching about Logan?"

"I don't bitch," Veronica scoffed in mock offense.

"Right, sorry. What I meant to say was dish, vent, or talk about."

"Watch it, Mackenzie," she said with a comical evil eye. "Seriously though…everything good?"

Mac sighed, letting Veronica know there was, in fact, a reason for her hiding away this past week.

"You first," she said.

Veronica explained as much as she could, mainly telling her there was a chance Duncan was coming home and Logan was less than happy about it, and letting her infer it had something to do with the case.

"They were best friends! He's being all immature about it! Does he not trust me? Is that it? He still doesn't believe me when I tell him I love him? I actually told him that—said the words, which he knows is huge—that I would choose _him_ every time?"

"You said that to him?"

"Yes!"

"Those exact words?"

Veronica stopped to think. She most definitely told him she loved him. And she told him she would always love Duncan as a friend… _well, crap_.

"Well, maybe not those exactly…"

"Well you should. It won't sink in if you don't spell it out for him. That's obviously what he's holding on to. He still thinks you ditched him for Duncan in high school."

"But I soooo didn't! I can see how it would seem that way, but I didn't. Even when I found out I wasn't Duncan's sister, I still wanted Logan. That was just a really bad summer for everyone, and it was all just…" It was too much back then.

"Again, you've told him this?"

Veronica let out a deep breath, and said unconvincingly, "Pretty much?"

"He's a guy. It takes a while for things to get through their thick skulls. Believe me. And Logan? When it comes to you? He's like a block of cement."

Veronica smiled at that. They were both pretty hard headed.

"Okay," Veronica said. "Your turn."

Mac looked at her, before turning her back and opening the mini fridge and the little freezer compartment.

"Dick kissed me," she said quietly into the fridge.

"I'm sorry, what?" Veronica exclaimed.

Mac turned around, arm outstretched handing Veronica the ice cream she promised.

"Well, _we _kissed, I guess," she said, dropping her arm. "I was an active participant..."

Veronica stared at her. "I… see… so that's why you've been a bit…preoccupied lately?"

"Yeah. I've gotten a lot of studying done, though. I think I've spent more time in the library this week than all of last year put together."

Mac prepared herself for the warnings, the encouragement to stay away from him, but when all she did was hold her hand out for the ice cream and ask,

"When was this?" Mac was a bit taken aback. That was it? Oh well, she wasn't going to question it.

"At the party last week."

"Ah… so that's why Dick's been all bad moody all week, too. I take it it didn't end well?"

"Ah, no. I kind of ran away."

"You pulled a Veronica?" She joked, eyebrows raised. "And you haven't seen or spoken to him since?"

"Well…not really. He was in the library yesterday looking for me, but I went upstairs and hid at a corner study desk so he couldn't find me." She said sheepishly.

"Nice. Avoidance. My typical brand of problem solving," Veronica said, frowning. Neither she nor Logan had initiated any type of communication yet. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to leave it alone. To _not_ deal with it.

But she couldn't afford to do that. Not if there was any hope of them moving forward. She sighed. She'd call him when she got home. She shook her head. They were talking about Mac.

"What are you going to do?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

Veronica bit her lip. "Did you…like it?" She tried not to cringe.

Mac groaned and flopped down on the bed. "That's why I'm freaking out. I _really_ liked it."

"Well he's got so much experience, so it _should_ have been good." Veronica immediately winced, regretting her words. "Sorry. That was…"

"No—it's fine. I have no delusions when it comes to Dick, believe me."

"But he's… getting better, I suppose."

Mac laughed. "Thanks. I'm sure that was painful for you."

Veronica just smiled at her.

"Okay. Enough about stupid boys. I still have the seasons of Buffy you loaned me… How about some shirtless Spike? That will certainly cheer us up."

"Absolutely."

"Which first?"

"Once More With Feeling, then Gone."

"You're the boss, boss."

Mac looked at the dvd box. "Property of Lily Kane" was written on the side, the "i" dotted with a heart.

"These were Lilly's?"

"Yeah," Veronica looked up and smiled. "Logan got them for her for her birthday one year I think. She used to make fun of him cause he liked it just as much as we did."

"Weird. Logan liked watching a tiny hot blond chick kick ass? Who would've thought?"

Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. Besides, I wasn't kicking anyones ass back then."

Mac smirked at her and shook her head as she put the DVD in the player.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just had a funny thought."

"_What_?"

She shook her head again. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this out loud."

"Why? What?" she asked, now desperately wanting to know.

"You pretty much _are_ Buffy."

"You are," Mac continued, off Veronica's blank stare. "You kick ass and have this little posse of friends—and FBI agents—who help you fight evil, and now you've got yourself a little love triangle!"

Veronica looked at her like she'd grown two heads.

"Oh come on you know it's true! Do you want to hear my reasoning?" Mac smiled at her, completely aware of how ridiculous her conversation was.

"Oh by all means, continue," she gestured.

"You and Duncan were all innocent and had some sicky sweet puppy love—trust me, as an outsider, it was pretty disgusting how lovey-dovey you two were—and in an absolute perfect world where neither of you had any baggage, your relationship maybe would have worked."

"I've got tons of baggage."

"Exactly. Enter Logan."

"Oh God. Please stop," she laughed.

"I can't," she moaned dramatically. "Logan and Duncan were friends then they hated each other. They fought over a girl, and then you and Logan hated each other some more but had a secret love affair... and Logan's probably one of the few people on the planet with more baggage than you…"

"Thanks," Veronica interjected.

"You're welcome. You fight, break up, make up, and have wild monkey sex. It's like this show _is_ your life. Except, you know. Without the vampires and stuff."

"So I'm what? Veronica the crime slayer?"

Mac smile. "Exactly."

"Oh dear lord."

"I know right? It's totally perfect."

Veronica just blinked at her.

"And I just said totally." Mac closed her eyes.

"Like, twice," Veronica teased her, with her best valley girl imitation. "Can we just watch this?"

"I'd love to."

They sat back, chuckling, when Veronica's phone buzzed. She had a message.

She saw Logan's name, and hesitated, just staring at it.

"Is that Logan?" Mac asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly, still just looking at it.

"You gonna answer him?" Mac was encouraging.

_Man up_, Veronica.

All it said was /Can we talk?/

Well she certainly wasn't looking forward to it, but of course it had to happen, so she answered him. /Yes. I'll call you later/

Veronica stopped for a second, and thought maybe that sounded a little curt and dismissive, so she sent him another one. One to show him she wasn't going to blow him off.

/I love you/

Veronica smiled and set her phone in her lap, but it immediately buzzed again. /beary much/

Veronica smiled again and laughed, her mood immediately brightened. They had a lot of issues to work out, but they really were going to be okay.

"Everything good?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, it will be."

***  
As Veronica made her way out of Mac's building a few hours later, she stopped short in the lobby, seeing a face she couldn't decide if she was happy to see or not.

"Hey!" she called out. "You don't live here."

"Wha..? What?" Dick looked around confused and perplexed. "Wait a minute…. I don't? But I could have _sworn_ I moved in here." Dick still looked at her mockingly confused, until he broke into a fake smile that quickly dropped from his face as well, and he just glared at her.

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know, maybe…not here?" Veronica asked. She wasn't going to let him get to her, and she could have a serious conversation about Mac. Or she could try, at least.

"And where else should I be? At home watching Logan pretend to not sulk and be moody? No thanks. But thank _you_ for that, by the way. Again."

Okay, maybe that affected her a bit.

"We just had a fight Dick, it's what normal couples do."

Dick just stared at her. "Well then you two are the most normal people I've ever met."

"Dick, seriously, what are you doing here?"

"None of your business, Veronica," he said defensively, as he tried to move around her.

"Actually, it _is_ my business. You mess with my friends? It's my business."

"Who said I'm messing with anybody?"

"Dick I swear to God, you do anything—"

"God, Veronica, I've heard this already, remember? We've had this conversation. Logan and I have had this conversation."

That made Veronica's heart swell a little bit. She was happy Logan cared for Mac as much as he did.

"Mac's my friend, okay?" he continued. "The first actual friend besides you're on-again-off-again that I've had in a while."

"I don't make out with _my_ friends, Dick." That stopped him for a second, and he looked at her. Apparently he didn't think she'd know about their balcony make-out session. Veronica couldn't really decipher the emotion in his eyes—she hoped it was fear. But whatever it was vanished quickly, and he quipped, "Maybe you should. It's a great stress reliever." He weaved around her once more, but didn't make it far before Veronica got in front of him again.

"Dick—" she stated.

"Veronica, can't you just—"

"No. I can't just." He sighed, but didn't have another snarky comment to make. He almost looked defeated.

That softened her a little. A very little. "Do you know what you're doing?" she asked. This time her question was quieter and devoid of all sarcasm or threat, because she really needed to see that Dick had the ability to be serious when it came to Mac. "I mean _really_ know what you're doing?"

He sighed again and rubbed the back of his head. Veronica would have to take that as sign enough he was at least thinking about it—that he was troubled by it.

"Well you better figure it out soon. You say you're friends? Don't do something stupid, cause you'll end up losing _that_." Veronica took a chance and added, "And with everything that's happened, I'm sure that wasn't easy to get." Dick's eyes snapped back to hers, and they had a stare down.

Veronica's stare remained steely, showing him she was being serious and completely honest with him. She waited for the biting comment, but again it didn't come.

"Well I can't do anything if you don't stop getting in my way." He didn't try to get around her this time, but instead raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to move.

Veronica kept her stare for a few more seconds, throwing in one last warning glare before she moved aside. Dick gave her a tight smile, before heading off towards the elevators.

Veronica watched him, and before he stepped into the elevator, he called out, "Go give our boy some lovin', Ronnie. He's dying for some contact!"

More than a few heads turned to look at her, and she rolled her eyes at him.

As any best friend, would do, she took out her phone and texted Mac. /heads up. He's on his way up. Good luck /

Mac was a big girl. She could certainly handle herself with Dick. But Dick?

Veronica sighed. She really, really, hoped, for all their sakes, that Dick didn't do anything stupid.

Ironic, though, because she was about to go take his advice… 

* * *

A/N: hehe, hoped you liked my spuffy shout out. Sorry if your an angel fan, but...i just can't do it. I do love david though (completely in love with Booth, obviously, so there you go :)

As always... ReviewReviewReview! I love reading your responses!

Hopefully the next one won't take as long, but I always say that...


	12. A Matter of Trust

A/N- There are no excuses for my absence….. I lost my inspiration. But I started re-reading a few old fics I hadn't looked at in a while, and it rekindled my passion (pun intended- read on ). I've said it before- this fic WILL be finished, I just have no timeline to give you. I have no idea how long it'll take me, or when the next chapter will be finished, so I won't promise you anything I can't follow through on…. Hope this one's worth the wait though! It's my first try at writing some juicy citrus, so be kind, but con crit is ALWYAS welcome! Enjoy. Sorry for making you wait so long!

ps- sorry if there are any weird formatting issues...for some reason when i upload a doc, it has a problem with italics and spacing. I tried to catch them all, but I may have missed a few. I am human. Forgive me.

Disclaimer: Not mine. (otherwise? Uh... movie. Duh.)

_Previously (since it's been a while): Clarence Weidman reached out to Veronica and the feds, saying Jake had information to help them with their case against the Sorokins—in return for clearing Duncan of his kidnapping charges. He says they need his help if they want to catch their window of opportunity. Logan doesn't like Veronica's enthusiasm at the prospect of Duncan coming home, and a big fight ensues. Mac and Veronica hang out at Mac's dorm, and Veronica runs into Dick on her way out (who is on his way to talk to Mac about their kiss) and warns him again not to hurt Mac. He tells her to go fix her own relationship with Logan, and she sets off to do so…_

* * *

Chapter 12

A Matter of Trust

"Are you understanding how this works, Mr. Kane? You're asking for me to look into and eradicate a federal kidnapping case here. I'm gonna need a little more quid pro quo from you." Booth jabbed his finger on the table in front of Jake.

"I'm telling you you'll get the tape. It'll be enough to—"

"To what? Pile on more circumstantial evidence? You want me to take down one of the biggest crime bosses in the country with an audio file? They've got the best lawyers in the _world_ in their pockets, probably a few judges too, but even a law student could discredit that in a heartbeat. I need faces. Video," he said. His gaze switched between Jake, who was sitting in front of him, and CW, who was lounging against the wall.

Agent Thomas had managed to bring Jake in without incident. Thanks to the fact that Jake never drove anywhere himself, there was nothing out of the ordinary in having a town car arrive at his house to pick him up. Of course this one happened to be driven by an FBI agent.

"I'll see what I can do. The hard drive was severely damaged."

"Now you see, that's how we work together! But unfortunately you know as well as I do that I'm not believing a word that's coming out of your mouth. You know I'm a bit disappointed. I figured you'd be a tougher nut to crack. To sniff out your weakness. You must really love your son." Booth knew Jake could and would read between the lines. If he ever wanted to see his son again, he was going to have to offer up more. "I'll see what I can do isn't going to work for me." Booth's hard eyes pinned Jake's. "I've got a guy in there who's counting on me to bring him out safely, so you're not leaving this room until I get more than 'you'll see what you can do.'"

"I've told you what I want and until I get some assurances-"

"Nothing can be done with Duncan's case until this is over." Booth leaned back and appeared to relax in his chair. He'd keep them here all day to get the information he needed. "Your kid even shows his face around here before this is over, you think Levi won't put two and two together if things fall apart for them? How you're involved? I even start poking around that file, asking questions, what do you think will happen?"

Jake didn't say anything. It was Clarence who broke the silence.

"We may be able to help with that," he spoke up for the first time.

"Help with what?" Booth asked from his slouched position.

"Your little, ah, shall we say, rodent problem."

"My rodent problem." Booth's trained eyes searched, but gave nothing away in return.

Jake turned around and looked at CW, who met his eyes and nodded at him. He sighed and turned back to face Booth.

When he didn't say anything else, Booth snapped and sat up. "Listen, I am _well _past tolerating your lack of coop-" he started forcefully, but was interrupted.

"I've got someone on the inside too."

Booth raised his eyebrows.

* * *

Even with the warning Veronica gave her, Mac still jumped when she heard the knock on her door. She got up from her bed and checked the peephole, hoping and dreading who was on the other side. She'd been thinking all week what she'd say to him if they ever managed to talk about what happened, and was surprised that Dick was actually the one seeking _her _out.

Her plan was to follow his lead. Part of her worried he'd say something like, "Hey man, sorry for suckin' your face, I was super drunk…" But then again she was equally scared of the opposite.

What did she want? Was it possible she could actually be thinking about having a relationship with Dick? Or _whatever _one had with Dick….

That was one of the problems right there. With her it would have to be a relationship—she wasn't a friends with benefits kind of girl.

She steeled herself and opened the door.

Dick gave her a big smile. "Hi."

"Hey."

Mac stared at him for a few seconds before opening the door wider. "Come on in."

He stepped inside and looked around.

"You want to sit?" she asked him.

"Nah I'm good…" he said, rocking back on his heels, thumbs in his belt loops. "Sweet pad."

"Uh, yeah. I like it." They lapsed into silence as Mac watched him.

"So you, uh, haven't been around much this week," he said nonchalantly.

To give herself something to do, Mac started pulling books off her bed.

"Uh, I've been busy. With homework."

"Right," he said quietly, watching her as if almost in a trance.

"Look, I like you." Mac's head snapped up to look at him. "As a person. Which is actually… kinda new for me. So I don't want to…you know…like… screw that up?" _Or have Ronnie rip my balls off_, he added silently.

So he did regret it. That hurt Mac a little more than she was expecting it to.

"And that kiss was—"

"Right, no, I get it," she quickly tried to butt in and salvage her pride. "We were drunk," — well, he was drunk—"there was a moment. It was a mistake, I get it."

"Well I was gonna say it was smokin' hot…" He stared directly at her unblinking, and Mac felt her face flush. "Look I get it was a little weird, cause it's like, you and me, but I thought…" he trailed off. "You think it was a mistake?"

Mac looked down. "I don't know what it was," she said quietly, picking some non-existent lint off her pants.

He watched her, clearly at a loss of what to do. This was a situation Dick Casablancas had never been in before.

"Look I… really like you, Mac," he said again. "Like _really _like you. But you're my friend and…. You're my friend, right?"

"Um…I think so. Yeah. I am."

"Right. That's cool. I don't have many of those. And I don't want to mess with that."

"You said that already," she said quickly, trying not to feel rejected. What was going on here?

"I know." He made a noise of frustration, rubbing the back of his head. "I know— but… I will screw it up. I know I would. At least now anyway." He sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Okay…," Mac said. This wasn't exactly what she expected him to do. He was telling her he actually valued her friendship? That he appreciated her? That was a welcome surprise. She pretty much knew he felt that way, but it was nice to hear it out loud. And he was also acknowledging his man-whore past. And their past together.

"It's still too—"

"No I get it Dick. Really." And she did. It'd been a little over a year, but maybe that was still too soon for what had happened…? Was there a statute of limitations? For this? She didn't really know…

But maybe they weren't there yet, anyway. Dick still had some things to figure out first. She got that. It was why they were friends to begin with.

"We're cool. Friends, yes?" she continued.

"Absolutely." He slapped his hands on his legs and gave her a big, genuine, and obviously relieved smile. He stood up. "Awesome. Okay. We're good?"

"We're good," she gave him a small smile.

"Good. Wanna go grab a burger or something?"

"Uh, Dick?"

"What?" He stared at her, then remembered and smiled. "Oh right—well we can find a meat-free burger somewhere I guess?"

She laughed at his obvious cluelessness. He probably had no idea how to order them at In and Out. "No, that's fine. I've got some more work to do," she declined, gesturing to the books she'd moved to her desk.

"Oh. Okay. Your loss," He joked, and stood up and went to open the door.

"Hey Mac?"

"Yeah?" She turned back questioning.

"I probably won't stop hitting on you, just so you know…" he said with a smile in his eyes.

"I think I'd be worried if you did."

"Good." he winked at her. "Lunch Monday in the quad?

"Sure."

"'K. See ya around Mac-a-doodle" he said, and closed the door.

Mac could hear him whistling down the hall, and she shook her head.  
_That was interesting._

* * *

Logan watched as the delivery guys set up his mattress in the upstairs bedroom. It was a California King, and a double sleep number thing—or whatever they were called. He liked his mattress soft and pillow-y, and Veronica preferred hers a little firmer (ironically enough, since her last bed was a wave pool).

He realized he'd been stalling on getting his bed. It wasn't a psychological thing that it had taken him so long to pick it out… he was just really bad at making up his mind, and it had to be perfect.

Or that's what he was telling himself, at least. It had nothing to do with the fights he'd heard growing up. The fights that would always come from his parents' bedroom, and ultimately leave them sleeping separately. He remembered the day he came home from school and his mom had completely redone one of the guest rooms. Aaron was off shooting some movie, and they had spent the entire rest of the weekend watching horrible TV and testing out the new mattress. It became their thing when he was little. When Aaron was away they'd have a little sleepover. He had his own room, and later claimed the pool house, but that guest room became his mother's sanctuary. Aaron would come home, and the first night back he'd hear the shattering glass. The yelling, the thump of a shoe or heavy object hitting the wall—one that had probably been aimed at Aaron. He hated that bedroom. Almost as much as his mother did.

But he had to stop comparing him and Veronica to his parents. Their relationship was not abusive. Not physically anyway (at least he was _pretty _sure she hadn't ever tased him… Was it bad he couldn't remember for sure?). He wasn't his father. And Veronica was most certainly not his mother. Or her mother, for that matter. But things weren't perfect. Maybe he was being a bit naïve expecting that their relationship would be great this time around. _Of course _he knew there'd be bumps, and this one was quite a big one.

Maybe it had to happen. To make sure they knew things weren't going to be perfect, or the smooth ride they were hoping for. Hopefully this would show them they could handle fighting in a mature way.

Logan was actually proud of himself. When Veronica left the night before, he didn't immediately go off to do something stupid. He didn't go set something on fire. He didn't go to a party to drink himself into oblivion. Not that he had to go to a party to do that—Dick already had their liquor cabinet well stocked. He had wanted to. But he didn't.

He had actually taken the advice Keith had imparted to him during the summer. Logan had rolled his eyes at the time to his suggestion of how to calm his rage, but grabbing his earphones and running along the beach actually kind of worked. Surfing always gave him a sense of calm, so it made sense the exertion would settle him down. It worked so well he spent most of the night and good portion of the next day on the sand. He probably managed to damage his eardrums in the process, but it was nice to have his thoughts drowned out for a while.

After sweating out most of his anger, he was able to play their fight back through his head. And no matter how many times he did it, it still came down to a few simple things. One: he loved Veronica more than he could possibly think about loving another human being. And two: he might have over reacted a smidge to her enthusiasm about Duncan coming home, but he still was uncomfortable with it. He wouldn't lie about those feelings. It wasn't fair to either of them. And he didn't think they were necessarily all unfounded, either.

And yes, maybe he was still mad at Duncan for how he left in the first place, but that was only part of it. Duncan wasn't all shiny and perfect as everyone made him out to be. Veronica knew that better than anyone. Or she should. Now of course he didn't want her to make a list and compare their transgressions, because he honestly wasn't sure who would come out on top. The problem was that from his perspective, Duncan's slate seemed to get wiped clean every time he made a mistake, yet he had to work tooth and nail and his always remained streaked and stained, and covered in dust. How could he compete with that?

He wanted a future with Veronica. As girly as it sounded, his heart ached with how much he wanted it. With how much he loved her. Needed her. He had never factored Duncan into their future. Maybe it was stupid not to, but apparently he had hoped the past was just that. Past. And that included Duncan. It hurt when it seemed like she wasn't on the same page as he was. After their big make-up conversation? If she was lying she had certainly fooled him.

Logan allowed himself about five minutes of wallowing before he got up to run back down the beach. He'd talk to her calmly about it. Bring up his feelings, his insecurities, and hope to God she quelled them. Because trust was a two way street. If she told him she loved him, no matter what her other options were, then he'd believe her. He had to.

* * *

Veronica left the dorm after talking to Dick. She really hoped she didn't have to taser his ass. With everything that Mac had been through though, Veronica trusted her to make smart decisions. She wasn't one hundred percent there with Dick though.

Still with her phone out, she decided she'd bite the bullet and call Logan. She had a pretty good idea what she had to say to him, and apologize for, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to let it sit any longer. She looked down at her watch. It was only 7:30. She'd already missed dinner, but when her dad had texted to find out if she was coming home, she'd told him she might end up staying at Mac's. Which suited her just fine for how she was hoping the rest of her night would go.

She really hated that she was so nervous calling him. She basically held her breath as it rang, waiting to hear his voice. She almost started talking when she realized it was his voicemail. "You've reached Logan with today's inspirational message: 'The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.' -Victor Hugo. You know what to do."

That stopped her in her tracks. Of course, leave it to him to break her down with a single line. Veronica closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Deciding not to leave a message, she kept walking to her car. She might as well just drive over to his house. Dick was obviously not home, so they'd be alone. If he was there, that is. She hoped he was just busy with something and not ignoring her call.

When she pulled through the house gate she saw a truck in the circular drive. She got out and made it to the door, and there were two guys in blue jump suits holding it open talking to someone inside.

She hovered for a split second, before berating herself for her cowardice. She stepped around them and into the foyer.

Logan's eyes met hers, and she read the look in his as hopeful.

"Hey," he said, and she answered back in the same nonchalant but nervous manner. "Hi."

He looked at her a few seconds longer, before turning back to the two boys at the door. He thanked them and gave one of the guys the 'I-think-I'm-so-sly-while-I-slip-you-some-money-' handshake.

Veronica eyed the exchange, and when they left, turned to Logan. "That was generous. I sincerely hope they put on a good show," she joked.

"Gotta help the young ones pay for college somehow."

"And what was it they were delivering?"

"Mattress."

"Oh?"

"Yup. No more air mattress for me," he smiled, but it was still not quite reaching his eyes.

Still standing in the foyer, Veronica couldn't take the awkwardness anymore, and blurted out, "I'm sorry."

He sighed, obviously relieved. "Me too."

"For what?"

"You first."

Veronica took a deep breath. "Can we go…um…?" She pointed into the living room.

Logan held his arm out in an 'after you' kind of gesture, and followed her in.

Veronica took his arm and pushed him gently onto the couch. He raised his eyebrow at her, and Veronica let out an annoyed huff of air. They were both being ridiculous, being all polite and cautious around each other. She came here to talk, so that's what she was going to do.

"You sit. I think I need to stand and…. and pace," Veronica said, and immediately started walking the short length of the coffee table back-and-forth. The same coffee stable she'd spit the water on the day before.

"Okay. Promise me you won't interrupt me until I say all this."

"Do I get a chance for rebuttal?" Veronica smiled inwardly. If he was joking, things were already starting out okay. Hopefully he would take what she said to heart and believe her.

"Three minutes and a conclusion," she joked.

"I suppose I can work with that."

"Good," she didn't acknowledge their attempt to lighten the mood, and dove right in with a deep breath. "Okay, I realize now maybe I didn't go about it the right way when Duncan left. We never really talked about it." She stopped to look at him, to make sure he realized what she was talking about. "I just kind of assumed you knew what happened, and I guess I shouldn't have." She took another big breath, and continued.

"Yes, I loved Duncan. Yes, I helped him get away with baby Lilly. But when they left, when we said goodbye, it was _goodbye_. We both knew that was it for us. That it would never be like it was before. Honestly, it wasn't really right the whole time we were back together. I just…. Okay…"

Logan watched as she geared up to say something she clearly didn't want to say.

"I realize now I really wasn't over you when I got back with him. I'm not finished," she put up a hand to stop whatever gloating comment he was about to make. "And you did nothing to ease my guilt no matter how much I told myself I did the right thing. I wanted my normal life back, and Duncan was… well, he was my Mr. Normal. And I convinced myself it was okay—until the bus crashed and we found out Meg was pregnant. I'll always be happy to have him in my life, but I could never go back to him. Not like that. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. That I was only with you because I couldn't have him. That was never the case. You'll never be my consolation prize. That's not possible." She paused to look at him, and his chocolate brown eyes stared right back.

"Logan, Duncan is…. He hasn't always done the right thing, or the best thing, and he's had his phases of duchy-ness, but so have you—so have I. He's just... He was one of our best friends. He was one of us." She sat on the coffee table in front of him, and put her hand on his knee, looking him straight in the eye. "But there's one big difference between the two of you. If you were God knows where, half way around the world? I don't think I could handle it. I _know _I couldn't handle it. I couldn't stand it. I would find you. Hunt you down." She paused, smiled. "I _need _you. Like I never thought I would need anybody. And it makes me…itchy… sometimes," she smiled sheepishly at him. "It's overwhelming. You know me… I just…really need you to understand this. You know how I get, _I_know how I get, but I'm working on it because I _know _I need you. It's another one of those self-awareness things I'm trying. I'm acknowledging my attachment to you." She put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm working on seeing my relationship with you as one of my strengths. And I know it sounds corny, but no one gets me like you do, and honestly, I don't think anyone else would put up with me. Not all of me. You take all of me, good and bad. I give you crap and you throw it right back at me—that's one of the reasons why I know we _do _have a future."

Logan hadn't given her a sign to how he was digesting all of her words.

"Can I say something now?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry too. I may have over reacted a bit, and I'm sorry that this whole Duncan thing makes me insecure. I don't like that feeling. That makes _me _itchy. But it's the way it is. But I do trust you."

"Good," sigh.

"Answer me something?"

"What?"

"Why did you freak out when Dick made that crack about us getting married?"

"You mean our shotgun wedding?"

He frowned. "You know what I mean. That's what started this whole thing in the first place."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. And it's not a future with _you_that scares me. I told you I wanted us to have a future. I'm just not sure how I want it to go. But I never said you weren't in it. You're in it," she told him. "You are my Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Robert Redford….all those guys."

"James Bond?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Sorry—that one's still mine."

"Fine," he sighed overdramatically. "But you know I'm not gonna do this halfway. I'm an everything kind of guy, Veronica. I don't _do_ half-assed. Not when it comes to you. I'm gonna think about these things. I want them. With you. With all the crap that's happened in our lives, I never thought I could actually _have _a healthy relationship—not before you. And I never thought I'd want one so bad. I am not my… I'm not Aaron."

"No, you're not. You never could be." Her hands still rested on his shoulders, and she squeezed them.

"I know that." He stood up and took over her pacing. "With as much as crap he spouted about family being so important, he never loved us. He liked Trina's hero-worship of him, sure, but that's about it. And he never even appreciated my mother. Not like she deserved." He closed the distance between them.

"But you, and—now don't start hyperventilating—you and any other family we have will be the best thing in my life, and I will never take it for granted." He added on a lighter note, "You're a lot of work, Mars. It's a good thing I know you're worth it."

She swallowed hard, looking down. "The baby steps weren't just for sex, you know. I know it's frustrating, but a lot of it's for your benefit. If we go slow, I have enough time to calm myself down before things get too heavy."

"Veronica, it's us. We're always heavy."

"I know, you know what I mean."

"I would fly to Vegas and marry you tonight. In a heartbeat. You need to know that. I know that freaks you out, but deal with it. I told you I'd wait and I will. I don't care if we don't get married 'til we're 70. We can go all Brangelina and adopt a bunch of little foreign kids and give them all the crap we never had if you want."

"Which would be what, exactly?" she asked, trying to think of something he couldn't get.

He shrugged like it was obvious, and said without an ounce of embarrassment for being so ridiculously sappy, "Two parents who love them unconditionally."  
_  
Well, crap._

What on earth did you say to that? If she was a swooner….

"Okay."

"Okay?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yes, okay."

"So when I, or someone else, joke about us being an old married couple you'll just laugh uncomfortably and I won't have to give you the heimlich?"

"Yes," she said quietly, looking down, but smiling as he moved closer and ran his hands up and down her arms.

"Good." He kissed her forehead, and she looked up at him studying his face, before sighing in relief and contentment. She stood up on her tip-toes and met his mouth in a kiss.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips.

"I know."

She dropped back down, and leaned into him, resting her forehead against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and when he kissed the top of her head, they both let out a huge sigh of relief.

They each chuckled, and she pulled back to look up at him.

A huge weight had just been lifted.

"Do you realize what just happened? We just had a grown-up fight, and worked it out like a couple of grown-ups."

"Go us," he said with a smile.

"I think we need to celebrate."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, leering at her. "What did you have in mind?" He bonked his forehead against hers, one eyebrow raised.

"Can you spot me fifty bucks?"

He pulled away from her, confused. "What?"

"Actually, you know I think Wallace only bet twenty." She shrugged, walking towards the stairs. "Eh, I don't really care anymore."

When he didn't immediately follow her, she turned around as if to say 'well?'.

"Don't you play with me Mars."

"No? I thought you liked it when I did that. I wonder how firm your new mattress is…" she said this with all the innocence in the world.

In what was almost a growl he charged at her. Veronica laughed and would have yelped if his mouth hadn't immediately clamped on to hers. Logan had basically bowled her over; they were lying on the stairs, Logan's hand behind her head. Veronica laughed into his kiss, before eagerly returning it.

"Are. You. Sure. About. This?" he asked between kisses.

She pulled back and looked at him like he was crazy. "You want me to change my mind?"

"Hell no," he said fervently, and swooped down to capture her lips again.

It wasn't long before the desperation and frantic need set in. He couldn't get close enough to her, or let her go for a single second.

Having serious trouble making it up the stairs together, and neither willing to relinquish the others lips, Logan let out a growl of frustration and finally just yanked her up in his arms to carry her up the remaining stairs. Veronica's legs immediately wrapped around his waist, and she squeaked with surprise as they crashed into the wall. Her shoes fell to the floor. With the support of the wall at her back, Logan was able to brace her against it and tug at her shirt. Veronica lifted her arms, and it was over her head with one swift yank. He buried his head in her chest, kissing his way up her collar bone, his tongue leaving a cool, wet trail behind it. She shivered, and her hands frantically reached down to undo his belt and zipper, pushing his pants down his hips and to the floor.

Logan kicked out of them then wrapped his arms around her back again to spin them towards the bedroom door. Veronica hugged him to her and bit down on his shoulder, trying her best not to completely lose control. She'd rather their first time back together be in a bed rather than up against a wall (as hot as that might be).

While Logan worked on unclasping her bra, Veronica reached down with one hand fumbling for the doorknob. Logan did his best not to fall forward into the room, and made his way towards the bed. He laid her down on the mattress and basically fell on top of her.

Veronica laughed. He stopped and they locked eyes for a brief moment, before both felt the sting of the separation and he reclaimed her lips.

Together they pulled off his shirt, and Veronica's skirt was next to join the pile on the floor. When her tiny hand teasingly brushed across the front of his boxers, Logan let out a hiss. "Jesus Veronica." She pushed them down as far as she could with her hands, then clamped her feet down on either side of his thighs and pushed them the rest of the way off.

"God I've missed you…" He breathed into her neck, and began kissing up towards her ear where he knew she liked.  
Veronica groaned, "Oh God you have no idea…" Her hands kneaded his back, and she arched into him when his mouth found her breast and he took a nipple with his teeth. She groaned again and leaned forward to catch his earlobe between her teeth, and it was his turn to moan.

Every nerve was on fire. Every touch tingled and seemed to travel straight down between her legs. God she'd missed this. She hadn't forgotten how amazing he was. How well he knew her body—and she his. Everything was familiar, but had the urgency and passion of something new. If it were at all possible, it meant more to her now.

The only article of clothing still between them was Veronica's underwear. Even stroked through the thin fabric, every light caress nearly sent her over the edge. She whimpered.

Logan missed her noises. She was never very vocal with words, but he loved her indecipherable, unintelligent moans and whimpers.  
At her urging, Logan hooked two fingers under either side of the waistband and slowly drew the offending article down her legs. He kissed her ankle, her calf, and pressed his tongue to the inside of her knee, making her squirm. When she felt his warm breath traveling higher, Veronica's eyes snapped down to his. On any other day, she'd let him continue, but Veronica wasn't in the mood to play games.

She grabbed his hair and lightly pulled up. Logan looked up at her, and chuckled when she shook her head and tugged on his hair again. He slid up her body, pressing kisses to her stomach and breasts, meeting her at her lips. When he froze and whispered, "fuck,"  
Veronica's eyes snapped open. "What? What's wrong?"

"The condom's in my pants out in the hall." He didn't want to leave her for a second.

Veronica frantically shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm on the pill. You're clean right?"

He smiled down at her, brushing a piece of hair away stuck to her now glistening forehead. He loved that she trusted him.

"Yes, I'm clean."

"Then we're good," she smiled at him, and braced herself on her elbows so she could reach up and seize his lips again. Her tongue swirled and battled with his, and she lifted her hips to meet his, showing him she didn't want to wait any longer.

Logan grabbed both of her hands with his and intertwined their fingers near her head. He looked straight into her eyes. She gazed back at him, amazed at the emotion pouring out of him.

"I love you," he told her.

"I know. I love you too," she smiled at him.

Logan bent down to kiss her and swallowed her gasp as he pushed inside her.

He paused for a moment to savor the feel of her. She was hot and tight and beautiful in all the right places. It was glorious. It was perfect.

God she loved him. When he began moving slowly, Veronica nearly shouted out loud from the friction. She opened her eyes again to see him watching her face. She smiled again, but soon decided she'd had enough of this. She used one of her legs to flip him over so she straddled him. She leaned down towards his surprised face, gave him a hard kiss and told him, "We've got all night for slow and steady…"

With a big grin on his face, Logan reached up to circle an arm around her waist. He flipped her over again and she let out another yelp and laugh.

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

"So you've been in _Weidman's _pocket this whole time. Not the Fitzpatrick's." Keith didn't know if he believed him.

"Well you know, he figured it'd be beneficial to actually have a sheriff on Kane's side this go around," Vinnie replied, smirking.

"And one more susceptible to bribes?"

"Now, now," he said. "Let's not get nasty."

"You know I find this all hard to believe—"

"If they threatened _your _mother—no, your precious _daughter_—what would you do?" he countered. "We already know what you'd do, don't we? Isn't that the whole reason I've _got _your job?" he defended with an eye roll.  
Keith said nothing.

"I'll admit Liam may have had me by the cojones at the beginning, but I'm playing on the side of the good guys now. Come on, embrace me!" he said throwing his arms out, then looked around the diner and pulled his arms in. "You're all just one big happy family, right? Fighting crime?" he continued. "We can be one of those TV shows, you know? The dysfunctional but highly successful group of misfits? You'd be the goofy annoying one who's morals always get in the way, Weidman the mysterious cold hearted one, and I'd be the-"

"Rat who'll play for the highest bidder and no one respects?"

"I miss you, you know that Mars? Life is never boring when you're around," he chuckled, letting the jab run off his back. "Speaking of never boring," he continued, "where _is_that pesky little daughter of yours?"

Keith sighed. "As much as she'd protest differently, she's still a kid, and I would prefer her staying out of the line of fire as much as possible."

"And I'm sure _that _will work," he said sarcastically. "She's obviously involved already, and that girl goes looking for trouble." Keith knew he was partly right. But he didn't want to talk about that.

"Well Booth and CW seem to think that you're gonna help us out now. As much as I warn them against it..."

"Oh come on Keith, I may act the slime ball, but I'm not a bad guy," he defended. "I'm no ones right hand man, but they're not suspicious of me. That's more than I can say for your guy. I'm more of like a deaf servant. And if you start buying Danny drinks, he'll treat you like his own personal psychiatrist. Especially since Liam ripped him a new one after he grabbed Veronica."

"And you just relay all your info on the Fitzpatricks to Weidman. And he pays you."

"Not Liam specifically. All my inside knowledge of Neptune. What do I care what he does with the info? There are a lot of shady people around here, and you'd never know it. Actually," he amended with a smile, "I'm sure you do."

Keith definitely did know about the shady underbelly of Neptune. Its members didn't discriminate between the classes, but they all tended to be involved with different things. It was because he knew these things Booth had elected him to meet with Vinnie when Kane and CW had admitted to have him under their thumb.

"And this didn't have anything to do with Kane and Duncan's case initially?"

"What do I care if it did? It might- both Weidman and Kane are like dogs with a bone, you know that. I doubt they'd give up. But the Fitzpatricks just happened to be the biggest thing going on then. Until the Sorokins started poking their heads around. And boy am I lucky that now you and the feds want to know what I know too," he said rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah I'm sure you're counting your lucky stars. Now listen Vinnie, you'll do as agent Levi says. They may trust you more- or should I say distrust you less?- but Levi knows what he's doing."

"I'll do as the big suit says, don't sweat it."

"Forgive me if I worry," Keith said with an eye roll. "Don't change your relationship with him, don't seek him out, don't do anything out of the ordinary. He'll send you a message when he thinks it's safe."

Vinnie just stared at Keith, clearly annoyed with Keith's condescending attitude.

"I don't need your lessons in sleuthing, Mars."

Keith smirked. "You still feel lucky?"

"I do, actually. And so does Weidman I'm sure. They could probably throw both of us in jail if they wanted to. Lucky for us, they don't."

"Oh I'm sure they want to."

"What did I say earlier about embracing? Maybe work on that." He stood up and slapped some money down for his meal.

"I don't think that's enough," Keith said, eyeing the few ones he'd put on the table.

"Well, I bet you can handle it with the little bonus the feds will throw your way. You know, after this is all over," he said with a smirk.  
His face lost the smile and said, "If we're still around, that is..."

Keith took a second and watched Vinnie slurp the last of his drink. With the nonchalant air he put on, apparently Vinnie knew the danger he was putting himself in. Now with the Sorokins around, it was more than doubled. Maybe he _did _care... ? Maybe.

"Now, I gots to get me out of here. Can't be seen with you. They don't follow me now, but they might start. And of course for my reputation in general." he smirked. "See you around Mars."

* * *

"Done!"

Veronica closed her laptop and leaned back on the couch. Both her and Mac were over at the Fennell's studying and doing homework.

"Why does this feel weird?" Veronica frowned.

"What?"

"I have no more work to do."

"Uh...I don't know." Wallace looked at her like she was crazy.

"Maybe cause it's not four in the morning and you're not hiding in your car taking pictures of creepy people while also trying to do it?"

"Oh, yeah. Maybe that's it..."

"You miss your mini cases?" Wallace asked.

"What?"

"You know, instead of the whole Italian mob thing you've got goin' on..."

"Russian mob. And an Irish crime family. And I'm slightly disturbed by how nonchalantly I say that..." Veronica shook her head. "And it's not really a conscious decision... I did do a little photo op last week for dad. Nothing big." Veronica shrugged her shoulders. "But yes. Honestly? Yes. I miss my little mini cases. If that were all I was doing—not worrying about Logan getting beat up with a crow bar or getting stashed in a barrel and dropped into the ocean—it would be wonderful. I don't really think I can afford any other distractions though. Although I didn't mind the extra cash flow..." she added as an afterthought.

Mac's eyes got wide. "Are you serious?"

"About which part?"

"All of it?"

"Maybe. I don't know. You saw what they did to Logan last time. It'll be such a relief when we get their sleazy asses in jail, but in the meantime... I worry."

Mac gave her a sympathetic smile. "You know we can still help, right?" Wallace nodded in agreement as Veronica vigorously shook her head no. "My hacking skills are only improving—I can do that from afar," she continued.

"I know guys, thanks." But really, there was no way she was going to get her friends into this if they didn't have to be. "But no way. There are enough agents, and they'd kick _me _to the curb if they could. But I appreciate it." Veronica smiled at Mac before adding, "You know they did bring a gadget guy from DC—he's been doing all the computer stuff so far. He's only a little older than us I think, and he completely fits the geeky but cute stereotype."

"An FBI gadget guy? Wow...can you get me that job? Then I'd really be your Q."

"Actually, I bet I could get his _number _for you after this is all over, since you know, you and Dick are just _friends_." She smirked at her.

Mac had filled Veronica in on her little chat with Dick, and while she was kind of surprised—and impressed with Dick, if she was being honest—she was glad things had settled a bit. But Mac was too fun not to tease.

"Funny."

Wallace scowled. "I'll never understand girls and the whole 'bad boy' attraction. Doesn't make any sense."

"Oh please, you've got the whole suave athlete thing working for you, so don't even _start_complaining about girls liking a 'type.'" Veronica said to him.

"Moi? A type? I don't think so! You're looking at 100% unique indefinable class right here ladies!"

"Is that what Natalie tells you?"

"Shut up."

Mac just laughed at them. "And comparatively? Around here? I wouldn't exactly call Dick a bad boy…"

"How about clueless?" Veronica just rolled her eyes at Wallace. He hadn't really witnessed any of Dick's attitude adjustments, so he was more wary than the rest of them. "You find his cluelessness endearing? Not to mention his upstanding virtuous reputation," he said sarcastically.

"Oh lighten up Wallace. He has his moments, right Mac?" Wallace looked at Veronica in surprise. "And besides. They're just _friends _so what does it matter?" She teased.

"Would you stop saying that?"

Veronica laughed and closed the rest of her books. "Let's go outside! It's too nice to be in here."

"But dinner's almost ready and why are you so happy?" he quickly turned on her.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I not allowed that emotion?" Veronica asked him, still with a smile. He looked at her scrutinizingly, and the light bulb when off.

"You made up with Logan."

"And if I did? I can't be happy about it?"

"No, I mean you _made up _with Logan."

Veronica just blinked at him.

Mac laughed, and Wallace's smile grew even wider when she still didn't answer.

"Haha! Yeah baby! You _made up_! That means I win! Fifty bucks, baby! Come on, cough it up girl!" Wallace was bouncing and clapping excitedly on the cushion, then hopped up to the arm of the couch and shoved her shoulder.

"Get down Wallace. Won what?" Alicia came in from the kitchen.

"Nothing," Veronica said quickly, and glared at Wallace's still smiling face.

"Well dinner's on the table. Mac are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"Oh no, thanks Mrs. Fennell. I have to get back," Mac said, and started packing up her stuff.

"Alright, well we're holding you hostage next time."

"Sounds good," she laughed. "Thanks for the snacks! I'll call you later?" Veronica nodded and smiled at her.

"Okay you two, it's getting cold."

"Where's my dad?" Veronica asked. She pulled out her cell and frowned when it showed no missed calls or messages.

"He's still out. We'll save him a plate."

That didn't smooth the crease in Veronica's forehead. Where was he?

Wallace nudged her again and said quietly, "You owe my fifty bucks."

She just rolled her eyes at him. "I'm holding you to it."

"Okay!" she said exasperated.

"Okay what?" Darrell asked from the table.

"Nothing," Veronica said.

She frowned again eyeing her dad's empty seat.

* * *

Thanks again for reading! Drop me a note- even if it's to say how annoying I am for not posting sooner…. Until next time….

ReveiwReviewReview!

-hera


	13. ITS MOVIE TIME BABY!

A/N: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

Sorry to tease you with an alert... but I thought this was warranted... **in case you haven't heard WE'RE GETTING A VM MOVIE!**

Check out this link- remove spaces, add 3 w's to the front, and change the : to a .

kickstarter : com /projects/ 559914737/ the-veronica-mars-movie-project

HA! They thought there wouldn't be enough interest! It hasn't even been up for a full day and they've gotten more than the $2m! MAN i love this fandom!

The video is hilarious, and if you read all the way down- my favorite part is how Kristen Bell signs off with "LoVe"! Oh man... i can hardly contain myself... and the last of the Q&As at the bottom:

Q: Veronica better end up with Logan, Rob. She just better.

A: That's not a question.

Q: We're just saying...

A: I hear you. Remember it's noir. There aren't a lot of happy endings.

Q: Noir, my ass. We've waited a long time for this.

A: (Busily reworking super-grim ending.)

So... if there's anyone still out there that cares... this has lit a fire under my butt, and I PROMISE you I will have this story finished before the movie comes out. I know that's not really saying much since we won't see the movie for another year, but still- it gives me a deadline, and this way I won't feel completely stupid when the movies out and like there's no real need for me to write anything... That being said, I have a lot of thinking to do, cause I really don't have any idea what comes next in my little story. I kind of know an outline of the "climax" or whatever, and i know what i want the ending scene to be, but I have to work on getting there... Hey- If anyone wants to brainstorm with me and help me out... eh? eh?

I'm still freaking out. This is awesome.

:)

-heratulipsia


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